


Lovely Madness

by BloodlessResonance



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crimes & Criminals, Eventual Romance/Relationships, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prison, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Slow Romance, Slow Updating because author is lazy, but definitely will update, some humor too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-24 02:50:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4902712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodlessResonance/pseuds/BloodlessResonance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He couldn't see beyond the black and white of the world but there's always that special person who could show him that the gray in between exists. He just didn't think he would find that person in the looney bin. In later chapters there will be shounen-ai.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Autumn Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I decided to try my hand at writing, so this is the result.(I kind of edited this note because it was too cringy before lol(wtf past me)). Hope you enjoy the story~  
> Gonna do this only once:  
> I don't own Naruto or it's characters.

"Hey, did you hear? They say he failed his exam again."

"Who? Oh, you mean him. Yeah and this time he wasn't even in the top 50!"

"Heh, I knew he wasn't going to make it. Why do they even keep him here? They should just kick him out."

"I know what you mean, he's so worthless-''

"Why doesn't he just give up on-"

"It's pathetic how he-"

"So weak-"

"He's not good enough to-"

**"He will never surpass his brother, after all."**

I gasped as I woke up from another nightmare. They were getting more and more frequent after the incident. I sighed as I looked at the alarm on my nightstand, the bright digits reading 6:00 am.

'I guess I should get up. Can't fall asleep again anyways.' I thought as I got up from my bed. After I finished my daily routine I got out a black suit from the wardrobe and put it on. Before I got out of the room I stared at the full length mirror at my reflection. Black hair with a blue tint to it which was spiked in the back and two bangs on either side of my face. Black emotionless eyes staring right back at me, mocking me with their resemblance to his. I shook my head as I went out of the apartment and down the stairs of the block.

When I went outside I decided that I'd take the path through the park to my job. After that nightmare I didn't feel like driving. The walk was a quiet one since most people were still asleep at this hour. The leaves were starting to fall down, creating a colorful carpet and marking the beginning of autumn. The air felt colder as I continued to walk down the path looking at the worn out swings on the playground and the forgotten football ball lying near the road. I kicked it near the swings and walked out of the park. There wasn't that much traffic now but you could already see the people starting to open their shops for the day and the people hurrying to their jobs.

I finally reached my destination and went near the gate guard. He was an old man, probably in his fifties, with gray hair and a rough face. He was sleeping on a chair in the guard booth, his body in a position that looked anything but comfortable and his loud snoring was the only sound around the place. I sighed and reached through the small window to shake his shoulder.

"Who the hell dares to wake me up in the-o-oh, Mr. Uchiha, e-excuse my tardiness, shall I open the gate?"

"Please do." I said as I waited for him to open the gate. He hurriedly pressed the button, and as the tall metal gate opened, I started walking inside. I noticed how the guard visibly relaxed when I began to leave and before he couldn't hear me anymore I turned around and said:

"Oh, and Mr. Smith?"

"Y-yes?"

"Please do fix that tardiness of yours. I do not approve of such acts, especially at the front of the gates where anyone could see you. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes, sir. Crystal."

"Good. Then have a good day, Mr. Smith" I said as I walked into the building, leaving the trembling guard behind.

The whole place was dull and void of any fancy furniture but it was well maintained and clean. The main hall was spacious and there was a desk on the right side of the room where an attendant was usually staying at but it was too early for anyone else to come. I walked to the left side of the hall where the elevator was and pressed the button for the second floor. There were three more floors underground but the staff worked on the second floor. The second floor, where my office is, was empty but as I walked to my office door I noticed that some of my co-workers were already here. There were a few bags left on some of the desks and the computers there were turned on. I entered my office and sighed as I noticed the pile of never-ending paperwork on my desk. It always looked like it was increasing more while I worked on it.

As I turned on my computer and prepared to start that godforsaken paperwork, the door to my room was slammed open.

"'Sup Boss?"

"What do you want Suigetsu? I'm not in the mood for your idiotic rambling." I said as one of my colleagues walked into my office and plopped himself on my couch. The couch was probably the only thing I'd let him touch anyways. Don't know what he was doing before he came here. Suigetsu has shoulder-length white hair with a light blue tint to it, and almond shaped purple eyes. He has sharp teeth and a playboy attitude. He probably sleeps with women more than I eat tomatoes and that's an achievement on its own.

"Will you tell me why you came, and if it's to tell me about your "wonderful" night, then get out right now." I grabbed the first paper out of the huge pile before me and started looking through it.

"As much as I'd enjoy giving you a detailed report on my love life"- I snorted at the "love" part. More like lewd. - "I'm actually here to tell you that our new crazy cookie came, and we need you to go through the procedure."

"Fine, I'll be there in five minutes. Do you have the file?"

"Yeah, yeah, here." I looked up as he left the file on my desk and went out screaming something about waiting for me downstairs. I got up, took the file and turned my computer off. Worked for around five minutes, that must be a record or something. As I got on the elevator, I pressed the button for the last floor. I quickly scanned the file and looked up as the elevator stopped. Suigetsu was waiting on the other side, grinning at me, as he led me to the end of the hall. We stopped at the last door and I felt how my face became void of any emotion, not like it had much in the first place, as the door was opened by a tall man with a scarred face and a black headband around his head.

"Ibiki." I greeted as the man turned to me, and by the look on his face, I could tell this wasn't going to be pleasant. At all.

"Uchiha, glad to see you're finally here. This one has a knack to rile you up so keep your temper in check."

"Got it." I said as I entered the room. It was white and there was only a table and two chairs in it. One of the chairs was already occupied and I sat on the free one, drawing the other person's attention.

"Welcome to the Torture and Interrogation, prisoner number 6053, Uzumaki Naruto."


	2. Sunshine Handcuffs

**-Naruto's POV-**

'Is that a cigarette there?' I wondered as I crouched in the tiny space of the prison vehicle. I was getting transported to my new home/prison. This was the seventh one and I was getting tired of being jugged around in different prison cells every day. Can't a man decorate his cell in peace? I was just getting comfortable in the last one before they decided that having ramen posters and actual pillows wasn't allowed. Of course I refused to throw them away and they tried to tear the posters off. I may have punched and broken one of the jailors' nose but can ya blame a guy for defending his ramen posters?

They had led me to the chief's office and on the way we passed by the place where you could visit the prisoners. As we were walking through there one of the doors opened and, can you believe it, slammed right into my face. The guy who walked out looked like some rich businessman and he looked down at me with a disgusted face. Yeah buddy, don't worry, I don't like you either. When I got up his eyes widened in surprise and I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say.

"Well, well, if it isn't the son of Namikaze Minato. How are you doing? Enjoying the prison life?"

"Yeah, it's actually not that bad. And I'd appreciate it if you moved away. You're blocking the path dude. Maybe you should consider the gym life?" I said as I grinned at the red faced man. Serves him right, thinking he can trample all over me. Well, he thought wrong.

"Aren't you the cocky one? Don't think you're anything special scum. Your father was a successful businessman but then he lost everything because he was too soft-hearted. You're walking in the steps of a failure and you'll die like a failure." I started gritting my teeth when he and my jailors began to laugh.

"Oh? What's wrong, did I strike a nerve? You get riled up so easily, just like your mother. Ah, sorry, sorry, she died along with your father, didn't she? Everybody saw when she jumped off of that building. I guess she wasn't strong enough to handle the death of your useless father. She probably went insane and decided to kill herself. What a pathetic wo-" He couldn't finish his sentence after I slammed my foot into his stomach. He gasped and fell on the floor holding his stomach in pain. The jailors were backing off when they felt the killing intent rolling in waves off of me. I sat on the man's stomach and started slamming my shackled hands on his face. There were screams all around me and I realized I was the one screaming with angry tears rolling down my cheeks.

"You think you know everything don't you?! My parents weren't weak or useless and they sure as hell were not twisted like you! All of you, the press, the police, the businessmen, you spit on their image as if they are a disgrace but you know what?! You're far away from reaching even the dirt below their feet, asshole!" I shouted as I repeatedly slammed my handcuffed hands on his face. More guards had arrived and had managed to pull me off of the man before I had turned his face into a bloodier mess.

After that I remember being in the chief's office, told I was being moved into another facility and thrown into the prison vehicle. I was currently trying to get the cigarette but the thing kept rolling away. The space was really small with two bench-like things build opposite each other. I didn't smoke but I could use the cigarette to bribe some of the smokers in the new place to give me some instant ramen. I don't know how but they always manage to sneak in what you want if you give them something good in return. It was only one cigarette but it was better than nothing, I guess. Just before I managed to get it the vehicle suddenly stopped and I kissed the floor. The door opened and a man with a black headband was standing there. His face was scarred and he looked like he would kill me if I pissed him off.

"I'm Morino Ibiki and I'm the one in charge of you. I'll be bringing you in for interrogation and then you will see your new home." The man said as he grabbed my shirt's collar, pulled me to my feet and out of the prison vehicle. I looked around the place and I had to admit it looked really dull. There was a big metal gate in front of us and a guard boot on its left side. It was cold outside and I could see a park on the other side of the road. The leaves were falling, signaling the beginning of autumn. I realized I hadn't known what date or season was with all of the moving. It was dull but the place was quiet and very different from the noisy city I had been in before. I was starting to tremble from the coldness because the orange jacket and pants that the prison gave me were really thin. Scarry went to the guard and he opened the gate.

The hard metal creaked as it slowly opened and Scarry started dragging me to the front door. There was a stone path from the metal gate to the door and everything else was covered in grass, except a small koi pond on the left side of the path. The building itself wasn't anything special. It was a boring grey color, just like any other prison, and it had metal bars on the windows. Ibiki opened the door and we entered the main hall. I was dragged to the elevator on the left side of the hall and when we entered Scarry pressed the button for the last floor. When we got out of the elevator I looked around, confused. I was expecting a hall full of cells and prisoners sneering at me but what I got was a long line of doors, all of them white, and a grey door at the end.

"Hey, Scarry, is this really a prison? It looks more like a hospital down here, and where are the cells?" I asked, and then yelped in pain as Ibiki hit the top of my head.

"Call me that again and you will get more than a bump, kid. And this floor is for interrogation only. The other two floors are the prison cells, then it's the main floor and a second floor for the people who work here." He answered and I noticed we were standing in front of the grey door. He opened it and there were two chairs and a table inside. He put me on one of the chairs and sat on the other one. The only light source was a flickering light bulb over the table.

'This whole room is so cliché.' I thought when the door opened again, and a white haired man entered. He looked at me and grinned, flashing a pair of sharp teeth.

"Yo, blondie. Is he the new one Ibiki?" He asked as he started circling around me, but stopped when Scarry looked sharply at him.

"Yes he is, now stop acting like an idiot Suigetsu and give me his file." Fishy grinned again, and placed a file on the table. After that, he saluted at us and exited the room.

"Let's start with the interrogation. We'll begin with easy things first. Also I have your file so don't even think about lying got it?"

"Why do we even do this when you have all of my information already?" I asked as I looked at him curiously.

"Because its protocol. I don't want to either but I don't have a say. Now let's start. Name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Age?"

"Twenty one and single."

"Hair and eye color?"

"Fabulous golden locks and awesome blue eyes." Ibiki's patience was running out, and I was planning to keep going with my awesome honest answers.

"Okay, now that this crap is done, let's start with the real questions. Your father was Namikaze Minato and your mother was Uzumaki Kushina. They are both deceased and you were adopted. Is this correct so far?"

"Yeah, it is." I said as I remembered the reason why I am in prison in the first place. As he continued to read the file, I started to zone him out. I started remembering the night everything crashed. I unconsciously placed my hand on the left side of my head. I still remember the sharp pain of the glass and the screams of my stepmother. I remember my stepfather standing before my fallen body, the bottle that was broken in half still in his hand, dripping its content on the floor. Then I saw the knife and-

"Hey, Uzumaki are you listening to me? I'm not talking to the walls." I blinked, and remembered where I was. The bulb was still flickering above us but for some reason the room looked darker to me. Ah, Scarry was talking again.

"Ugh, I guess I'll leave you to him, you are starting to grate on my nerves." I grinned as I heard that.

"Thanks for the compliment, Scarry. Don't forget to visit me again!" I said as he got up to exit the room. I blew him a kiss when he wasn't looking. If he saw that he'd probably rip me a new one. When he closed the door I noticed that it actually had a small window on it. I tried to see who he was talking to but after nearly falling off of the stool I gave up. Ibiki had literally chained me to the table. He had put a chain on my handcuffs and then he put the chain's other end around some kind of metal ring under the table.

I can't believe someone actually made a metal ring there. I mean, I didn't think someone could actually escape when the room was so tightly guarded. There were no windows and there were two cameras in the corners of the walls. And the room was soundproof, too. I shouted and Scarry didn't come back, and I couldn't hear them either. Or we both had hearing problems. I wonder if I could get my ramen posters and my pillow? I doubt it but I will ask anyways, they are important. As I continued to think about random things I heard the door open and another person sat on the chair. I looked up and noticed a black haired male sitting on it.

'Duck butted Ice Queen.' Was the first thing I thought when I looked at him. His face was even more emotionless than Scarry's, and Scarry was _emotionless._ It's probably an interrogator thing. So the only thing left was, if I should call him Duck butt or Ice Queen.

"Welcome to the Torture and Interrogation, prisoner number 6053, Uzumaki Naruto."

I'll go with Duck Queen.


	3. The Deal

**-Sasuke's POV-**

Annoying. That was the only thing I thought as I interrogated the blonde man. He was trying to get on my nerves, and as much as I tried to control my facial expression, it was working. The only thing I got was sassy remarks from the idiot and, if it wasn't forbidden, I would have made a nice new bullet hole through his skull. Yeah, that sounded absolutely fantastic right now. Anyway, as far as the blonde's crime went, it wasn't anything special. Usually for this type of murder he would have rotted in prison or stayed for at least 20 years but, since in this case it was a self-defense type of murder, the penalty wouldn't be that bad. Uzumaki wasn't too old either, a year younger than me, actually, so that's a plus for him. He will probably stay only 5 years at most, especially since his foster mother saw everything and she can confirm it was self-defense. As I was thinking this over, the idiot started twitching in his chair and looking at me as if he wanted to ask me something.

"What is it?" I sighed as he looked at me, surprised that I was actually stopping the interrogation for a while.

"Well...uh...you see..." He started, looking at me, then at the ground, and back up at me again. I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance. If he said anything stupid again I swear I-

"I need to use the toilet." I couldn't help it. My jaw dropped a little. Of all the things I thought he would ask me, this was the last one I expected. I noticed he was twitching again, his handcuffs clacking against the chair.

'I think I've got an idea.' I smirked as I looked at the blonde. Except the crime, there was something else we wanted from him and that was the main reason for the interrogation. Even if he looked stupid, he knew many people. Important people, including the shady criminals. And we needed information on those criminals, mainly the group called Akatsuki. _He_ has been seen in that group and if this guy knew anything about the group's whereabouts, I was going to find it out.

"I've heard that you went along with your biological father to his office and met important people there. But you were also rebellious and got into a lot of fights, meaning you knew a lot of criminals, too. So let's strike a deal. You will tell me everything you know about the group called Akatsuki, and I'll let you use the toilet." I said as I got out of my chair and exited the cell, letting the blond think it over. I knew no sane person would offer valuable information just to use the toilet but people can't really hold it in forever. The idiot was stubborn as a mule, so I'm pretty sure he wouldn't tell me anything soon if I didn't push him a little, and that is exactly what I will do. Suigetsu was still outside and I told him to fetch me a glass and a water bottle. After that I went back inside and saw Uzumaki twitching even more in his chair but his face was set in a stubborn line. I smirked at that. Let's see how long he can hold it in.

"Well, are you going to tell me anything or not? I'm not a patient man, Uzumaki." I said as I watched his expression twist into a cocky grin.

"I didn't think you were, Duck Queen. I ain't telling you anything."

"Care to repeat that, Uzumaki?" I placed the glass in front of him, slamming it on the table with enough force to break it. He seemed kind of nervous now, his grin slightly faltering at the sight of the glass. He twitched again.

"I can stay here all day, but I don't want to waste anymore time." I opened the bottle of water and tilted it so the content started falling into the glass. Another twitch.

"Also, if you really plan to hold it in and accidently wet yourself, just know that you'll be going with those clothes everywhere."

Twitch.

Half of the water was gone already.

Twitch.

"Well, Uzumaki" I came even closer to him, our faces inches apart. Twitch. Gulp. "Will you speak or not?"

The bottle was empty and the blonde gave in.

"Fine, I'll talk." He said through gritted teeth. I smirked and stepped back, sitting in my chair again.

"I don't know all of the Akatsuki members personally. I know only their leader, Pain, and one of the members, Uchiha Itachi. The-" I reached over the table and pulled the blonde's shirt, making him spill the glass over the floor. But I didn't care about that. All I cared about was the information he had on _that man_.

"Tell me everything you know about _Itachi_. _**Now**_." I said pulling him even closer. His eyes were wide and filled with surprise at my sudden action, before they changed into ones filled with mischief. He grinned at me.

"Heh, you actually have other expressions, eh? And why should I tell you anything? And don't start with the toilet thing. It was for information on Akatsuki, but if you want more information on Itachi _only,_ then that's a different story."

"Don't fuck with me" I growled, gripping his shirt even more, turning my knuckles white from how hard I was gripping it. "You will tell me everything you know about _him_ or I'll make sure you never leave this place again." I said. A short silence followed before he burst out laughing. I was shocked and my grip on his shirt loosened making him fall back into his chair, his handcuffs clacking on it.

"I knew it! You looked a lot like him but I wasn't sure at first. After that reaction to his name I'm positive you're his brother. He talked about you a lot but even if you interrogate me forever, I won't tell you anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that bad that I wouldn't want to help you find him but in this case, I can't. Let's make a deal. I will stay in the prison for one year and every month I will tell you some information about Itachi." I frowned at that. Even if I agreed there's no guarantee that the information is up to date or true. And once a month won't really help me find him _._

"I know that you think I may lie to you or give you some stupid clues but the thing I'll be giving you is actually from Itachi himself." My eyes widened at that. From Itachi? Did Itachi predict all of this would happen? But how?

"He said this to me: "Once the riddle is complete he will come and seek me." I know you want this information immediately but that wouldn't be good for me. You see, at the end you will get to find your brother, and I will get out of this hellhole. So, Uchiha, do we have a deal?" He said, reaching with his handcuffed hand towards me. I looked at it for a while, contemplating the deal. It was a good deal, really. Both sides won and if the information wasn't true, I could always stuff the idiot back in here. This information was the blonde's only hope of escaping the prison, and my only hope of finding my brother, because I had to admit, my search hadn't been going well. I always felt like I was walking in circles, losing my brother's trace more and more every day. Even my nightmares had come back, and I knew this deal was my only chance to find him. And I had to find him no matter what. I needed answers and I would get them, so with that thought in mind I grabbed the blonde's hand in my own pale one, shaking it.

"Fine but, if your information is wrong, you won't see the sun again." Uzumaki just grinned at me. I let his hand go and decided this interrogation was over for now. I had to talk about this with the higher-ups to get the okay from them and start this thing. As I walked to the door, Uzumaki shouted something at me.

"Hey, hey, I forgot to ask something important. I won't be telling you anything if you don't answer me." I stilled and waited for his question. Would he want to be let out even earlier? Or maybe special privileges?

"Can I get my ramen posters and pillow back, please?" He said. I felt my eye twitch again. Of course he would ask something like that. Retard.

"Now that depends on what information you give me, Uzumaki." I smirked.

"Ugh, fine...uh...I just realized I don't know your name. I mean I know you are an Uchiha but what's your first name?" He asked. I was surprised by that, because he sounded genuinely curious. I can't remember the last time someone asked me for my first name without any motives behind it. I shook my head at that. No need to dwell on it.

"Oi, aren't you going to answer me?" Uzumaki shouted while angrily hitting his handcuffs on the table.

"It's Sasuke. I hope you can remember that much, idiot." I said, smirking at him before opening the door.

"Huh? What was that, you teme!? Forget Duck Queen, I'll just call you Sasuke-teme! Get back here and let me hit you. I'll show you who's an idiot you-" I closed the door before he could finish his sentence. I saw Suigetsu leaning on the wall and looking up at me when I exited. He was about to say something but his eyes widened and he looked like a _fish_ out of water. Heh.

"Suigetsu, close your mouth before more flies get in it, you're brain-dead already, don't make it worse." I said and that seemed to snap him out of his daze.

"Hey, Boss, did something happen? Do you have a fever? Did you eat something weird?" he started asking, before I had enough and punched him on top of his head.

"What is your problem?"

"You're smiling, Boss." I froze at that and touched my face, just now noticing the corners of my mouth were tilted up. I shook my head and forced myself to stop smiling. Why was it so hard? I usually didn't smile at all, and now I couldn't stop. I turned my back to Suigetsu and called the elevator.

"I want you to place Uzumaki in his new cell, and after that come to my office, we need to call the higher-ups over. There is something important we have to discuss." I said before going into the elevator.

**-Naruto's POV-**

'Well, that went better than I expected.' I thought as I waited for someone to pick me up. I didn't have to wait long because the door opened and Fishy walked inside.

"Yo, blondie, I'll be escorting you to your new cell." He said as he removed the chain from my handcuffs and led me outside of the room. I felt like I had been sitting in there for ages. We walked to the elevator and he pressed the button for the last floor. When the doors opened, we got out and we were in some kind of lobby again. It wasn't really that big, only with a desk, computer, a guard behind the desk and a door on the opposite wall. The guard was sitting in a chair and, by the looks of it, taking a nap. Fishy moved near the guard and whistled right near his ear. The poor guy almost fell out of his chair before catching the edge of the desk. He turned to Fishy, ready to yell at him but then thought better of it. Guess Suigetsu was top fish here. Heh. The man opened the door and we walked inside. Now there was a really long and spacious corridor in front of me, separating in two at the end. All around us there were cells with prisoners in them. All of them were looking at us with resentment. More like looking at Fishy, but yeah. The corridor itself was really dark and, since it was underground, the air was stale. Some of the prisoners had risen out of their beds and started shouting profanities at Fishy but he just ignored them. As he led me through way too many turns, we finally arrived at my cell.

"Well, this is it, your new room. Also you're sharing it with another prisoner so the left bed is yours." He said as he took off my handcuffs and pushed me in the cell. He locked the door and grinned at me before saluting and going away. The only lights in here were some torches on the walls. I snorted at that. Did they seriously use torches in this era? I decided to lie down for now and wait for my roommate. I looked at the opposite bed, but except a few books under a green pillow, there wasn't anything else. I rolled so I was facing the wall and decided to take a nap. Not like I had anything to do anyways. Before I could fall asleep I heard shouts coming from the corridor. I decided to ignore them but I turned around when my cell door was slammed open and a body was thrown inside.

"This is your last warning, you bitch! If you do something like that again, you will suffer the consequences." The officer who had thrown the woman in shouted before locking the cell and angrily storming off, his footsteps echoing in the corridor. I turned to the woman when I heard a cough coming from her. The light was very dim but I saw that, except the books, there was a tray with some bread and a water bottle on the bed. It was probably the breakfast they gave the prisoners and her leftover meal. I got the bottle and crouched near the woman, propping her on the wall and helping her to drink the water. After that she coughed a few more times before finally stopping.

"Thank yo-" She started saying, lifting her face. I finally managed to see her properly in the dim light and both of our eyes widened.

"Naruto?!"

"Sakura?!"


	4. Be My Friend?

**-Naruto's POV-**

"Sakura, you are alive?!" I yelped when she hit me on the head. Ah, still feels like I was hit by a bull.

"Of course I'm alive, you idiot! Did you really think that something as stupid as a gang fight would take me down?" She said, smirking at me.

"'Course not, Sakura! Doesn't mean I wasn't worried about you. But how did you end up in this prison?" I said.

"Well, it's a long story and I promise to tell you everything but I'd like to rest for a bit first, these guards have some nasty punches." I nodded at her, and we both lied down on our beds.

She smiled at me and turned around so she was facing the wall, and I had a nostalgic feeling creep over me. She still looked the same, pale shoulder-length pink hair and bright green eyes. We were best friends back when my biological parents were still alive. Sakura was the daughter of a famous businessman that had a chain of hospitals under his command. Naturally, he had wanted Sakura to become a doctor too.

When she first told me about her family she said she wouldn't have minded to become a doctor but the thing she loved the most was fighting. The passion and adrenaline rush she felt when she met some gang in her territory, and she just had the feeling she was _alive_ when she traded fists and kicks with them, sometimes hearing a few gun shots here and there too. So, because she was intelligent enough to know that just fighting on the streets wouldn't help her get a stable life, she had decided to open a dojo and teach anyone who wanted to learn how to fight and defend themselves. We had met when I was waiting for my father outside his office. He had a meeting with her father, and when they came he left her with me.

We were sitting in two black chairs right in front of the office. I had been nine years old at that time and she was eight. She had short hair back then too but her eyes were nearly completely covered by her fringe. I still remember her bright red dress with white dots and the way she nervously shifted in her chair, looking at the door every five seconds. At that moment I had decided to try and make casual conversation with her because I was starting to feel awkward with the stretching silence.

Just as I was about to ask her name the door to my father's office was slammed open and Sakura's dad stormed out of there looking really angry. He roughly grabbed her hand and started dragging her to the elevator. Her legs couldn't keep up with his speed so she tripped and fell face-first on the tiled floor, her hand slipping from her father's, making him turn around. He had started shouting at the crying child, making her cry even louder. I had been startled when I heard her cry but after that I had quickly sprinted to her side as fast as I could. I found out she had scraped her knees and tried to help her stand up but my arms weren't strong enough to lift her up. I had desperately looked back towards the office door, seeing my father coming out and looking at us with startled eyes but I could also see a small spark of fury in them. He had walked over to us, crouching and picking Sakura up while whispering soothing words to her. He had called one of the workers to bring her in his office and told me to go there too.

After we went there and the worker disinfected and bandaged the girl's legs he had left us to sit alone on the black couch in front of my father's desk.

"Hey, what is your name?" I had asked. She had jumped in her seat, swinging her head in my direction and that was when I first saw her eyes. I had thought they were really pretty so I told her to wait there, going behind the desk and opening the third drawer, where my things sat at. I had been spending so much time in here that my father had decided to make a drawer full of my things. I had pulled out an orange and white headband, running back to her and tying the white headband in a way that held her fringe up, and then tying the orange one around my forehead. She had looked at me confused before I grinned at her.

"This is gonna be our symbol of friendship! I really like your eyes so don't hide them like that, they look really sparkly and shiny, uh, so..." My blabbering had died down when she started laughing at me. She then seemed to realize what she had done and her face became red.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you like that." She said in a quiet voice, clenching her dress in her hands.

"Nah, don't worry about it! My name is Uzumaki Naruto by the way, what's yours?"

"H-haruno Sakura"

"So, Sakura-chan do you wanna be best friends? I already gave you our symbol of friendship so, say yes, please?" I pleaded, making my best puppy dog face, which made her laugh again.

"O-okay, I'd love to be your friend!" She said in a happy voice. We had talked for all sorts of things after that, before our fathers had come back. Her father had apologized to her and to us before picking her up and saying goodbye. My father had promised we would see each other again but I never thought the next time would be in a street fight.

I was sixteen at that time and I had started getting into more and more fights after hitting that age. One day while I was going back from school I had walked through a back alley and, just like in a movie, there was a group of thugs waiting at the end but they had already surrounded someone. I couldn't see the other person, before I heard a weird cracking noise and one of the thugs came crashing into one of the dumpsters. Then the person jabbed another one of the thugs that was behind them and when he started to fall over to clench his stomach in pain the person grabbed his left arm with their own and swung him over them, making the thug fall, his head hitting the ground hard and rendering him unconscious. There was one more left and the poor sap brought out a knife, charging blindly with it towards the person. But they started to run straight into the thug, and at the last moment ducked and uppercutted him. As the thug fell, I was finally able to see that the person was a girl, because until now she was in the shadow of the alleyway, and my eyes widened when I saw familiar pink locks and green eyes looking just as shocked as mine.

"Hey, you're Sakura-chan aren't you?"

"Naruto?! Oh my god, it really is you!" She had shouted grinning and hugging me. We started meeting each other after that a lot, our childish promise to be best friends coming true. Everything was going smoothly until graduation came and we had to choose the college we wanted to go to. Sakura wanted to open her dojo and start teaching there but her father was absolutely against that idea. He wanted Sakura to become a doctor and save lives, not "teach how to take them away" as he so kindly put it. Sakura's mother had died after giving birth to her, so she didn't have anyone else to rely on but herself. I had offered to explain to her father how important the dojo was to her but she said she wanted to do this on her own.

It had happened suddenly, really. They were getting back home when a car nearly crashed into them. Her father had somehow managed to stop before making contact, thus saving them from any fatal injuries but he didn't know that that car had blocked their path on purpose. When he went out to see if the other driver was okay, he told his daughter to stay in the car and call an ambulance if there was someone injured. But when he opened the door he was greeted by a gun. She had heard the shot and watched him stagger backwards, coughing out blood on his grey suit. His nearly lifeless eyes had turned towards her and he had whispered:

" _Run._ " And she had hit the gas pedal, driving with shaking hands and tears in the corner of her eyes. That was how she had come to my door. I had still been living with my parents and we had managed to calm her down enough so she could tell us her story. After that the funeral had come and I had been holding her hand the whole time through it.

Two years after that she was holding my hand as I cried on my father's grave. At that time she had stopped fighting, too busy mourning her father, but after that she went back to the streets. She was starting to get recognized as a criminal, getting into fights with gangs all the time. Three months had passed when I was putting another flower on my mother's grave but this time there was no one holding my hand. She had disappeared and after that I had heard she was killed while fighting with some gang. I didn't want to believe it and I'm glad I didn't because she was back now and that was all I was asking for. I had needed my best friend, I will admit that. After being put into a foster family, having that incident and being thrown into prison I was glad I finally had someone I could talk to again.

My thoughts were cut off when I heard the other bed creek and saw Sakura getting up and sitting on her bed, her back against the wall.

"You're awake already? Weren't you sleepy?" I asked, confused.

"I was. I've been sleeping for an hour or so, I think. That's how I feel it, at least." I was surprised at that. Had I been lost in thought that long? Guess the nostalgia was a little bit too much for me. I chuckled before copying her position.

"So, can you tell me how you got here?" I asked while making myself comfortable. This seemed like it was going to be a long story.

"You remember that story that I was killed in a gang fight, right?" I nodded. "Yeah, so I didn't die there as you can see, but I was badly injured. I already had a reputation with all the fighting, so, after this big fight the police found me and saw I had killed two of the gang members. After getting healed up in the hospital I was thrown into a prison on some high mountain not too far away from here. After a few people fought me there they decided to move me. Well, I was actually supposed to be transported to another prison but while I was being transported to the other prison someone had decided to try to escape.

There was an explosion and our truck almost rolled out of the road. We were high up in the mountain, where my first prison was at, so it would have been bad if the truck fell, we would have been splattered on the ground. Luckily, the driver somehow managed to hold the bus in place but the guy who wanted to escape already had his buddies from outside help him out. They broke the door to the truck and pulled him out. They wanted to light the vehicle on fire, so we wouldn't be able to tell anyone about their escape. I decided to move then, because I wasn't planning on dying there.

I got up and rammed straight into one of the men. I snatched the keys he had used to free his friend and unlocked my shackles, don't ask me how, I don't know myself. Then I grabbed the man and held him in front of me as a human shield of sorts. He had a gun strapped to his belt and I got it, pointing it to his head. But the other guys didn't really care about their friend, and started shooting at me. I managed to nail one of them in the head and I had two more left, not counting my dead shield. I had slowly walked to the other side of the road and hid behind a tree there. We had a shooting competition and I killed another one, shooting him in the chest but he had managed to shoot my left bicep. The men had brought fuel with them and they had left it near the bus. Actually, the reason I was still alive was because I had been in the back of the truck. They had killed the driver and had started shooting all of the other people one by one, when they decided the fuel would take too long. So I lied on the ground and aimed for the fuel tank, and managed to hit it.

The explosion startled the last man but didn't kill him. He was distracted and that was all that I needed, before I pulled the trigger and killed him. Sadly, after that the police came and they decided to move me here, or I could have escaped. The good part is that I got to meet you again." She said, finishing her story. I was surprised she had managed to survive everything, but really happy about it too. Just then I had noticed the white cloth keeping her fringe up and my eyes widened. No way. It couldn't be, could it?

"Hey, Sakura-chan, is that the white headband I gave you?" I asked. She seemed surprised before grinning at me.

"Yeah, it is. It's really worn out now but I just couldn't get rid of it. It kind of reminded me you were still out there." She said. I got up and lifted my shirt, untying the cloth around my stomach. Her eyes widened and she laughed.

"Guess I wasn't the only one, huh?" She jokingly asked.

"Yeah, you weren't. Kept it for the same reason you did, because I refused to believe you had died in that fight. So, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, do you wanna be best friends?" I asked while holding the orange headband in my palm, clenching it into a fist and extending it towards her.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, and yeah, I'd love to be your friend." She said, copying my actions and bumping her fist with mine.

We both smiled.

* * *


	5. Agreement And Food Fight

**-Sasuke's POV-**

I _really_ didn't wanna do this. Like, _**really.**_ I had Suigetsu call the higher ups so we could discuss Uzumaki's stay. The problem was that the higher ups didn't take things like shortening a prisoner's stay well. In fact, if they could, they would have probably made every prisoner stay in prison for the rest of their lives. I sighed as I exited the elevator and walked to my office. I could already hear the shouting coming from it and I prepared myself for the upcoming headache. When I opened the door, everyone quieted down and I greeted the elders before sitting in my chair. When everyone had turned their attention to me, I started speaking:

"As you all know, I've called you here so we can discuss prisoner Uzumaki Naruto's stay. He was interrogated and we had managed to strike a deal with him where both parties would reap something from it. The deal was that he would give me a clue about a certain member of Akatsuki's whereabouts every month for one year and after that he would be released." I finished and waited for their reactions. The higher ups consisted of four people. The first person, sitting in one of my chairs was Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was an old man with grey hair, and a wrinkled face with liver spots of old age. He had a single line running vertically under the outer corners of each eye, which stretched down into his face, until it reached his cheeks. He was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt, grey pants and only the jacket from a suit. He looked like he was deep in thought, considering the deal.

Next to him, on my black couch were two other elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Homura had grey hair, a beard, glasses as well as a constant frown that he always wears whenever I see him. He also had a strong jaw-line, a facial structure he had retained even in his old age. Koharu had dark hair pulled back in a twin bun locked by a traditional Japanese hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side. She is also always squinting, barely opening her eyes at any point in time. Both of them were dressed in simple Japanese kimonos, Homura's was white with blue linings on the sleeves and Koharu's was green with white lining. They looked like they were torn between agreeing and disagreeing, their eyes shifting to Hiruzen and to the last person in the room. His name was Shimura Danzō and he was leaning on the wall, his face set into a neutral expression. Danzō was a frail old man, who would normally walk with a cane. He had black, shaggy hair, with some grey strands in it. His right eye was covered by an eye patch and an x-shaped scar rested on his chin. He was wearing a white shirt, with a black jacket over it and grey pants. Danzō was a retired soldier, no longer capable of fighting due to his old age but he was a man who followed the rules. So I was pretty sure this idea wasn't exactly his cup of tea.

"Mr. Uchiha, are you sure you can trust this man's word? He may reap something from this but he is still a _prisoner_. They always want more and lie through their teeth. The Akatsuki are a big threat and we need to try and eliminate them ourselves - not listen to some prisoner spouting off lies." Koharu said, breaking the silence. Homura nodded his head, agreeing with her. He then sharply looked at me and spoke.

"It has been bothering me for a while but you said a _certain_ member of Akatsuki, meaning information on only one member. Mr. Uchiha, could that member be Uchiha Itachi?" I tensed at the name, and looked warningly at the man. "I know that you want to find him but risking it like this for information that might not even be true is absolutely ridiculous. It would be better if you just gave up on ca-" Homura suddenly stopped when I slammed my fist on my desk, making the paperwork shake slightly. I took a deep breath before addressing the man again.

"Mr. Homura, I assure you that this is not a waste of time. Uzumaki has made a deal with me and I intend to hold my part of the deal, too. Also, for someone as hard to catch as _him_ , I will resort to **any** and **every** method I can think of, and if you intend to question my actions, then please leave." I said. If I was thinking a bit more rationally, I would have probably realized that I may have destroyed my chance of getting the elders' agreement. Too bad I was not thinking rationally, I never had when it involved _him_.

"Now listen here Mr. Uchiha, you-"

"Okay, I think that's enough, both of you." Sarutobi said sternly, looking at both of us, waiting for a retort. When none came he sighed and looked at Danzō, the two of them exchanging a silent conversation. Danzō pushed himself off the wall, before deciding to start speaking. Now that I had calmed down a little bit, I realized that Danzō and Hiruzen still hadn't given their opinion on the matter. I was starting to lose hope, because I needed at least three of the elders' agreement. If Danzō and Sarutobi agreed, I could persuade one of the others but I was sure that the retired soldier was going to side with Koharu and Homura. What he said next came as a pleasant surprise.

"I think it's a good deal. I've been keeping up with the research on Akatsuki and, to be honest, our leads are always a dead end. If this prisoner has any kind of information on the group, I want to know about it. Usually, I would disagree on such blasphemy, but I'm willing to bet on this information, Uchiha, so don't disappoint me." He said with a stern look on his face directed at me.

"I will support this deal, too. But still, Mr. Uchiha, don't forget to be on alert, even if the information turns out to be true." Sarutobi said and I nodded at him in understanding. Well, this was good. Very good, actually. Homura sighed and he looked at me with a defeated expression.

"Fine, then, I will agree to this but if I see the information is useless, you will bear the consequences, Mr. Uchiha." He said, his glasses glinting in the sunlight. It was already around lunch time and I was glad that we were finally finishing this up. Koharu was the only one who wouldn't change her decision but I was okay with that. I only needed three people to agree, so whether she said yes or no, it wouldn't matter to me. Everyone stood up, preparing to leave, when the office door was slammed open. A police officer came in, bowing quickly out of respect when he saw the elders, before turning his gaze to me.

"Mr. Uchiha, we have a problem. There was a fight in the cafeteria and the prisoners started throwing their food around." He said, before I noticed he had spaghetti in his hair and a tomato stain on his shirt. I sighed and the elders told me to go, we were finished here anyways. I slightly bowed and excused myself, before following the officer. I followed the officer to the elevator, adopting a brisk pace.

"Who were the ones that started the fight?" I asked as the officer pressed the button for the fourth floor. The fourth floor was where the prison cells were, along with the last one, but this one also had a cafeteria at the end of the corridor.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura." The man answered when we went out of the elevator. Haruno Sakura? That name rang a bell. She was transported to this prison, because of some accident on her way to her original one, as far as I remember. So she knew the idiot. Great. She was also known for being a fierce fighter, so I hoped the cafeteria didn't look like World War 3. We walked to the end of the corridor, some prisoners that weren't in the lunch room sneering at us from their cells, and opened the metal door to the cafeteria. I could hear objects falling and a lot of shouting, but I thought I could handle it.

Oh, how wrong I was. The cafeteria was pure chaos. There were chairs flying around and some of the tables were broken, with passed out prisoners lying unconscious on them. But what was the worst was the food. Oh, the poor, poor, innocent food. It was being used like it wasn't food but water balloons. As I was looking around I spotted a blonde-haired man having a food fight with a brown-haired man and a pink-haired girl. The three of them had pulled a table up to act as a shield, and were tossing food around like mad men. I marched to Uzumaki, barely dodging the flying ingredients, and tapped him on his shoulder. I was startled when he jumped away before yelling "Gotcha!" and the next thing I knew I had a pie thrown at my face. Suddenly, everyone had stopped fighting and the room was filled with silence. The pie's plate slowly slid down my face, before falling on the ground with a clack.

I slowly swiped my hand across my eyes to remove the pie and I saw the idiot staring at me like a fish out of water. He was going to pay. And his sidekick, too. I smirked darkly at him before he chuckled nervously.

"Oops...?" He muttered before I turned my head to address all of the prisoners.

"I want all of you back to your cells this instant. Officer, call the others to help you move them. And you two" I said as I looked at the two people who started this mess "are going to stay here with me."

When everyone was gone I made the two of them sit seiza-style on the floor. I left them like that for about half an hour before I decided they had had enough.

"Alright, you can sit normally now." They immediately fell to the floor, breaking the position and then groaning at the sudden strain on their muscles.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme, why did you make us go through that? I can't feel my legs anymore!" Uzumaki whined at me.

"Well, that's too bad, because you are going to clean every bit of food from the floor." I said as I smirked and threw the mops and dishrags at their feet. Their faces paled at that information, before the idiot tried to stand, failed miserably, and started shouting at me.

"Are you kidding me? You _do_ remember you made us sit like statues for half an hour, while you were watching like some evil sadist from the sidelines, don't you?!"

"Of course I do. But you could only blame yourself for this whole mess, Uzumaki. If you hadn't started this food fight, then you wouldn't have to clean this right now." I retorted.

"Just admit that you want to see me suffer, Teme!"

"Hn, life makes you suffer every day, Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Te-Ow, Sakura-chan, don't hit me like that, it hurts!" He said, while rubbing the bump on his head.

"You were starting to annoy me, so I decided to silence you." The girl, Sakura, said while shrugging her shoulders. As I had heard, she was a skilled fighter, which meant that her punches hurt a lot.

"I would have said I pitied you, because that punch looked like it hurt a lot but since you don't really have any brain cells I don't think I have anything to pity, do I, Uzumaki?" I smirked when the blond fumed with anger but before he could do anything, I turned around and walked to the door.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme! One last thing, stop calling me Uzumaki, my name is Naruto!" I turned around and saw him grinning at me. I felt the corners of my mouth twitch again, before turning around and opening the door.

"As you wish, then, I will see you in the interrogation room next time, Naruto."


	6. Lake And Sticks

**-Naruto's POV-**

"Sakura-chan, wait for me!" I yelled as I ran towards the pink-haired girl, nearly dropping my pile of sticks. So, this jail was a bit different than your normal one, if you haven't figured it out already. When a prisoner does something out of order, there is a type of "punishment" to be met. The prisoner has to be transported to a forest near the edge of the village and collect wood for the winter. Of course, if the prisoner is unstable or has a habit to try and escape from the prison, they wouldn't let them out. The punishments differ depending on the type of deed done by the prisoner.

If it's something minor, like the food fight or breaking a chair and so on, they send you to collect wood for the winter and as for the unstable ones, they let them do chores in the prison, with a guard watching over them. Basically, manual labor. But if you tried to stab an officer or kill your co-prisoners, you get sent to the interrogation room, where Ibiki breaks your soul. Me and Sakura got sent to the forest with Sasuke, who is our "guardian", so to speak. We also have shackles on our wrists but without the chain that links them together, allowing us to move freely to collect the sticks. There is a certain mechanism about these shackles. If me or Sakura decide to hurt Sasuke or try to escape, he has a remote where he can press a button, and we would get an electric shock from our shackles, rendering us unconscious.

Even if I could escape, I wouldn't. First because I wouldn't get that far anyways, and second because I already made a deal with Duck Queen, and I plan to keep my end of it. Besides, it's pretty fun to mess with him. Sakura told me she planned on sticking with me, even though she could get out earlier, because her crime was half self-defense, and because of good behavior if she _really_ tried. She was mainly thrown into prison because of her numerous fights. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a branch snap and turned my head around to find Sasuke leaning on a tree nearby, looking at the sky and probably just spacing out. Sakura had gone to place her pile of sticks in the truck, where two police officers waited for her, just in case she decided to run away.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme, why aren't you helping us collect wood? Stop standing there like some princess and start collecting!" I said, pointing my finger at him and making him roll his eyes.

"Dobe, this is your punishment, not mine, so do it yourself. I'm just here to watch over you so you-"

"So you don't try to escape blah, blah, blah. I know that already!"

"Then do your work." I just growled and threw a stick at him.

"You just don't want to get your hands dirty and lose to me, admit it!" I said. I saw his eye twitch and grinned. Mission Get Sasuke To Participate: Complete! He looked sharply at me and pushed himself off the tree, throwing the stick back at my face in the process.

"Hn, I won't lose to the likes of you, Dobe." He said, starting to pick up sticks at a fast pace. We went like that for about ten minutes, both of us shouting profanities at each other every now and then. I was starting to move deeper into the forest and before I realized it I had arrived at the edge of a lake that was at the end of the forest. My back was towards the lake so I didn't even know it was there at first, until I stepped backwards and my foot met thin air. I lost my balance and fell into the lake. I noticed, while I was underwater, that I had been walking on a wooden bridge. I was going to swim upwards and get out of the freezing water when I saw Sasuke's silhouette on the bridge. I grinned. I had an idea.

**-Sasuke's POV-**

I hadn't really realized when I had gotten into the challenge. It had been a long time since I last did something other than work and it felt good, like a breath of fresh air. Of course, I knew it was only for a while, before I had to get back to the normal routine. I had collected a lot of sticks, so I turned around to show the Dobe. He wasn't behind me though, so I went deeper into the forest. It was around noon now and the forest looked beautiful, the sunlight shining through the colorful leaves. I could hear the fallen leaves crunching under my shoes and I arrived at a clearing, where I saw a lake with a bridge going a little into the lake. I walked to the end of the bridge and looked around. The lake was reflecting the sunlight and I noticed there were a lot of sticks floating in it. I frowned and looked around for the Dobe. Did he drop them and scram back to the truck? Maybe he decided to grab a pile of them from there and tell me he collected them, I wouldn't be surprised.

I turned around to walk back into the forest but before I could take another step I felt a strong tug at my ankle and I fell backwards into the water, dropping my sticks in the process. I landed with a loud splash and when I opened my eyes underwater I saw Naruto grinning at me. I glared at him and kicked him away from me before swimming to the surface. I caught the edge of the bridge and pushed myself up. I lay on my back and waited for the idiot to plop down next to me.

"What was that for, Dobe?" I asked, feeling irritated.

"I saw you and thought it would be fun to drag you in the wat-" He turned his face in my direction and bursted out laughing. "Oh my god, your hair looks ridiculous!" He managed to say and I punched his shoulder, hearing him yelp. We lay on the bridge for a while until I heard someone calling us.

"Oi, you two, what do you think you are doing, lying there? I don't care how, you are going to collect everything you dropped again or else!" Sakura said, cracking her knuckles menacingly. Naruto chuckled nervously near me and I felt the corners of my mouth twitch. I've been doing that a lot lately and I didn't know if it was a good thing or not. Sakura turned and shouted something about waiting at the truck and I stood up, ready to head back.

"Lake."

"Huh?" I turned to look at Naruto, who grinned at me, stood up and slung his arm around my neck.

"The first word of the riddle. Since the village is on the outskirts of Tokyo, and it's the beginning of autumn, it's September right now, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then this is the first word for the first month. I was planning to tell you when you called me for interrogation but I told you now because...well the scenery fits, I guess. And maybe because your hair looks hilarious." He said, dragging me towards the forest. I pushed his hand away from my neck so I could walk normally, before I suddenly stopped. The Dobe was walking a little ahead of me and he turned around to look at me, confused.

"Sasuke-teme, hurry up! Sakura-chan is waiting for us and I don't wanna make her angrier. We still have to collect the sticks again, too." He said, pulling my arm. Ugh, I didn't want to say this but I had to.

"Oi, Dobe, th-" Agh, dammit, this was harder than I thought. Come on Sasuke, be a man for god's sake!

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you."

"I said-" I started, but I suddenly sneezed. Oh no. Don't tell me I caught a cold. I swear, if this was a cold, I was going to castrate this idiot.

"Well, what is it?" He looked impatiently at me. I hit him upside the head and sneezed again. I started walking away while rubbing my nose. Ugh, I needed a tissue.

"Thank you for the cold, Dobe." I sarcastically said. I could hear his shouting behind me and this time I actually smiled.

'Thank you for the fun day, Naruto.'


	7. The Switch

**-Sasuke's POV-**

"Arrow."

'That is the next part of the riddle, huh? What could it mean, though?' I thought, not noticing the door to the interrogation room open. I was snapped out of my thoughts when the chair on the other side of the table screeched. The officer that had come in was putting handcuffs around Naruto's wrists. I frowned a little. Usually, the idiot would be like a bunny on crack but now he was unusually quiet. He was keeping his gaze to the floor and he looked like he hadn't slept. I frowned even more and grabbed his arm before he left the room, tilting my head in his direction since I was still sitting in my chair.

"Hey, Dobe, are you okay? You seem really down." The blonde shifted his gaze in my direction, looking like he just realized I was talking to him. I frowned again.

"Eh, what are you talking about Teme? I'm perfectly fine! Or maybe your attitude is rubbing off on me." He smiled, laughing a little. I just pushed him towards the door, the guard taking him out and back to his cell. Looks like I was worried about nothing. If he could still joke like that, then he was fine, right? But the uncomfortable feeling in my chest wouldn't go away.

It was lunch time and the prisoners were going to the cafeteria. I was waiting inside and when I saw a flash of pink, I went to the person and tapped their shoulder.

"Oh, Sa-Uchiha-san, what do you need?" Sakura asked. I signaled for her to follow me out of the lunch room.

"Sasuke is fine and I wanted to talk to you about something. Do you mind coming to my office?" I asked. She looked at me for a couple of seconds, before nodding and starting to walk to the elevator. I fell in step with her, before she looked at me surprised.

"Aren't you going to handcuff me? I might escape if you don't." She said, stopping and extending her hands towards me.

"I don't need to, do I? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't leave that idiot alone in here. And besides, you would be shot at least ten times before you reach the exit." We both smirked.

"Still, the other officers wouldn't be happy to see me walking around like this. But I'm glad you didn't immediately handcuff me, saying things like "I'm sorry but I don't have any other choice." or "It's your own fault but if you hang in there, I'm sure you will get out." I'm glad that you're different. And if Naruto trusts you, then I will too." I stopped walking, feeling a mix of shock and...happiness? Sakura looked at me like she knew something I didn't. She extended her hands again and I handcuffed her, before both of us entered the elevator.

Once the elevator stopped at my floor, I lead Sakura to my office. Most of the officers were having lunch and those that were still here were looking at us with a curious glint in their eyes but they didn't say anything. I closed the door behind us, removing Sakura's handcuffs and motioning for her to sit on the black couch. She sat and pulled her legs into a crossed position.

"So, I don't really mind sitting here but what did you call me for?" She asked. I wasn't sure how to ask her this, because the more I repeated the question in my mind, the stupider it became but the uncomfortable feeling I had had in my chest appeared again and I decided to just go for it.

"I was wondering...What's wrong with the idiot? I know it's kind of silly to ask something like this but he seemed really down and out of character." She suddenly looked really sad and sighed, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Look, what I'm about to tell you should be kept a secret between us. I think Naruto wouldn't mind you knowing, and you would have probably asked him anyway, when you became too curious. You already know that he was adopted, right?"

I nodded. "Well, it's actually a bit more complicated than that. You can't really call it an adoption, when he was 21 years old. But let me go back a bit. You see, his real father, Namikaze Minato, was a famous businessman. He was a very intelligent and kind-hearted man but you could say that his kindness was his downfall. He was best friends with another company's manager. His friend's company was accused of managing another smaller company, where they kept the customers' , it was like the manager had a bank for himself, and he kept stacking more and more, without anyone knowing. He always chose clients that were too old to understand that their salaries had decreased, or those that were too dumb to check if they got their normal salary. He stole an even amount, so he wouldn't raise any suspicion." I frowned at that, realizing where this was heading.

"When they accused him for the second company, Minato had defended him, saying that his friend wouldn't do something like that. So, by pulling a few strings, his friend was saved but later on Minato realized that that was his biggest mistake. After that, his friend had been caught trying to leave the country with a suitcase full of money and credit cards that weren't his. The guy was surrounded by police officers but had opened his jacket, revealing a row of dynamites. He killed himself and blew the suitcase with all of the money and credit cards in it. Later on, Minato found out that the guy had been stealing money from his company too, and that broke his heart, since he thought the man was his best friend. After that, the people who had their money stolen, started taking their rage out on Minato, since he had defended the guy who robbed them. That made Minato more and more depressed, even if he tried to hide it from his family, and his depression affected the entire company." Sakura stopped and took a deep breath.

"The people that worked with him left their job, scared that the enraged people might hurt them, and slowly the company fell apart. When the last person left, Minato had had enough and closed the already bankrupt company. He moved into a small apartment with Naruto and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina. But after some time, he was killed. He was going back home from the market when a man rammed into him and stabbed him through the heart. The man that stabbed him was one of the robbed people and after stabbing Minato, he had stabbed himself. They later concluded that the man was not right in the head. Anyway, that was a year ago on October 10th."

"Isn't today October 10th?" I asked. She nodded before continuing.

"Yeah and today is also...Naruto's 22nd birthday. He had turned 21 when his father died and after about three months, his mother passed away too...Naruto fell into a state of depression and after one month, somewhere around the end of February, he had been kind of adopted. The man that adopted him was a distant friend of Minato but he only "adopted" Naruto because he thought he could get his father's money. But since the company bankrupted, he didn't get anything. Naruto had to live with that greedy bastard and his wife, and even though the woman was kind, when the two men fought, she just stood to the side, not doing anything. I don't blame her though. He lived with them for about six months, before he was brought into prison last month. And that's all Naruto told me, it's your choice if you believe it or not." I tried to process everything that she had said. Naruto's background made much more sense now. I also had one last question.

"I wanted to ask you, I know Naruto is depressed because of his father's death but do you think he blames himself for it?"

"Definitely. He's just that type of guy." I clenched my hands.

"That idiot really thinks he's responsible for that? It's not his fault his father was killed by some oblivious fool! I swear, he's so-" I stopped my rant when Sakura started laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked. Why was she laughing at me?

"N-nothing, it's just that you genuinely seem mad at him! You shouldn't get so flustered, you know. He likes to beat himself up for a lot of things and you can't really blame him for feeling like this." I sighed and nodded, even though I was slightly annoyed. Just because the idiot liked to beat himself up, didn't mean I had to like it. I stopped at that thought. When did I start to _**care**_? I guess I felt obligated to the idiot for that time at the forest. Yeah, that's it. Right?

"Well, anyways, if you don't have anything else to ask, can you call someone to get me back to the lunch room? I'm starving." I stood up and placed her shackles again.

"I will walk you to the elevator at least, as a thank you for the information." When we arrived at the elevator, I called an officer over to take her to the cafeteria, since I had a lot of paperwork to do.

"Ramen."

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"That's his favourite food. Now, excuse me but I have around 10 minutes to have lunch, and I plan to use them." She grinned at me and entered the elevator, leaving me even more confused. What the hell would I need to know his favourite food for?

**-Naruto's POV-**

'Where the heck did Sakura go? I feel like everybody is burning holes in my back. I don't think the other prisoners like me very much.' I thought, nervously sitting at one of the tables, at the corner of the room, so I could see the door. I wasn't really hungry and the food looked like someone chewed it and spit it back out anyway. Suddenly, a hand was slammed on my table, spilling the thing that was supposed to be a soup over it, and splattering my jacket, too. I hissed at the hot liquid and quickly sat up, unzipped the jacket, removed it and threw it on the ground. I looked at the person that hit the table and continued looking up and up.

'Damn, this guy is tall, and muscular too. If he wants to pick a fight with me, the odds wouldn't be in my favor at all.' I thought. The guy looked like he came straight out of those movies where there was a strong, bad guy that was also an asshole. An asshole, but a strong one. He had millions of tattoos on both of his arms and a piercing on his lower lip. He was bald and looked like he hasn't heard what sun cream is. Seriously, he was _**black**_. No racism intended. I'm kind of tan too, anyways. His eyes were probably his most prominent feature, though. They were a light brown, which looked like it had a tint of yellow to it, because of the light. Basically, he looked like an enraged gorilla with cat-like eyes. He was radiating an irritated aura that was definitely directed at me, and I was sure I didn't know the guy.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Uzumaki kid. So, you finally came to visit us here too, huh?" The man's voice was really loud and cocky, echoing in the cafeteria and catching the other prisoners' attention. I slowly shifted my feet, positioning myself into a more comfortable, defensive stance.

"Do you have a problem with me?" I asked as normally as I could. Today really wasn't a good day to get me pissed off. I was already feeling under the weather and if this asshole didn't play it safe, I was gonna take everything out on him.

"Problem? Oh, no, no, what are you talking about? You see, as far as I remember, today is an important day, isn't it?" I felt my left hand twitch, and clenched it into a fist. I smirked at him, the tilt of my lips feeling fake and wrong, when all I wanted was to punch the living daylights out of the guy.

"Oh, really? I don't think that's any of your business, even if today is important. In fact, I don't think anything concerning me is any of your business, so leave me alone." I don't think I've wanted to curse so much in my entire life but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to start any confrontations. Not today. The guy smirked cockily, gripping the edge of my table. I could see the wood cracking under the force of his hand and I shifted again.

"Now, now, that's not the response I wanted to hear. I just wanted to give my condolences for your loss. Your father died today, didn't he? The poor sap was stabbed and the media couldn't stop talking about it! I was watching at that time, and you know what? I'm glad that little shit died! I had been captured by the police, because he had given them information on my whereabouts. Bastard knew everyone in this place! He found out I was trying to hack the computers in the company and told the police. They managed to stop my virus and find my whereabouts. If your father hadn't come to his office that day, I could have been rich! I'm glad he finally paid for ruining me!" The man finished and started laughing. The officers were stationed outside, next to the cafeteria door, so nobody could stop us from fighting. Most of the prisoners were looking at us, expecting a fight, and the tension in the room could be sliced with a knife. I doubted anyone would try to stop us, they'd probably just encourage the fighting.

Have you ever felt like you have a switch inside of you? It's usually turned down but when you get sad, angry, depressed or feel any kind of negative emotions, it's like those emotions push that switch, until it's been pushed half way up. But it's passing emotions, they go away and the switch falls down again. Now, though, I felt like that switch was being pushed upwards and it reached its highest position. I could feel the "snap" of the switch, and I sprung forward, stepping on the table and punching the man in the face. Startled, he lost his balance and fell on the floor. I thought this was my chance, and if I wasn't in such an enraged state I would have seen it coming sooner and I would have avoided it, but I wasn't. The man pulled out a knife and I couldn't stop my momentum, already straddling him, fist swinging at his face again. I managed to move myself and the knife dug itself in my left biceps. I hissed at the pain, and the man managed to pull one of his legs from under me, kicking me in the stomach. I could feel the breath leave my lungs and I wheezed, skidding away from the man and crashing into the table.

I felt the "snap" of the switch as it went downwards, stopping in the middle, not going fully down. I suddenly registered the pain in my arm and my blurry vision. That guy had kicked me hard, and I had hit my head on the table too. Speaking of him, he was already up and walking towards me. I saw a big, brown thing in his hand, probably a chair (or a bottle?). Suddenly, the scenery before me changed, becoming painfully clear and my stepfather was before me, the bottle was broken and the liquid was dripping on the ground (or was that the blood from my arm?). I could hear the prisoners shouting (or was it my stepmother's scream?). I could see the knife on the ground, see myself grabbing it and stabbing my stepfather with it. My surroundings changed and became blurry again, and I screamed, the pain from my arm (head?) getting worse. I saw a flash of pink and heard a thump. I felt the "snap" of the switch as it fell fully down and everything went black.

The next time I woke up, I was in an uncomfortable bed and the smell of anesthetics clung in the air. The walls weren't white though, they were a surprising dark green color, which was easy on the eyes. I looked around the room, and concluded I wasn't in the hospital. I was probably in the prison's infirmary or something. I haven't actually been to one before while I was in prison, so I wasn't one hundred percent sure. I knew it wasn't the hospital, because that place was really noisy and I wasn't dressed in one of those hospital gowns, thank god. I tried to sit up but I fell back down, clutching my left biceps.

Suddenly, I remembered why I was in the infirmary in the first place. I let go of my biceps and just lied there for a while. The next time I sat up, I used my right hand to push myself up. There was a window on the right side of my bed, and I saw that it was already dark outside, the full moon the only light source in the room. Apart from it, there was a desk lamp on a desk on the other side of the room, near the door. There were scattered papers all over the desk and a forgotten cup of what I assumed was coffee. That reminded me that I hadn't eaten lunch, and I was probably missing dinner right now. I groaned when my stomach growled and I pulled my legs up, clasping my arms around them but being careful with the injury and resting my forehead on my knees.

I stayed like that for a while, before I heard a click that signaled that the door had been opened. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone and it was probably only the nurse, so I kept my head down. I heard footsteps and a sigh, before I felt something warm on the top of my head. I finally lifted my head and saw Sasuke standing there, holding a bag with something in it. I was sure it was food, because it was warm when he put it on my head but I couldn't see what the food was. I looked at Sasuke's face again, and I was preparing to ask him what happened, when he beat me to it.

"I heard what happened from Sakura. You were fighting one of the prisoners when she and an officer came in. You were on the ground and the guy was going to hit you with a chair when Sakura had charged at him, pushing him to the ground. The officers took you to the infirmary, and the guy is going to be moved to another place because of this. " He finished. I sighed in relief at that. If he had been left here, who knows what would have happened. "Also, I...I asked Sakura about you, before lunch started. You seemed weird today, so I was a little curious. I know it really isn't my business but I want to tell you something about your father's death."

I tensed at that. I knew he would find out something like this sooner or later, but I preferred it if it had been later. "Look, I know you think it's your fault for your father's death but you shouldn't beat yourself up for it, because it's not. I'm not saying you can't blame yourself but I still don't want you to do it. Your father could have gone out any other day to do something else, and some other angry fool could have stabbed him. The point is not to beat yourself up for something you couldn't have done anything about. I don't want you to do it and neither does Sakura. I'm sure your father wouldn't have wanted you to either." He finished, looking out of breath. That was probably the most he had said in his entire life.

"I didn't know you were a life adviser, Sasuke." I said, grinning for the first time today. He was about to say something but just shook his head. He lifted the bag he was holding, and shoved it into my hands, looking away from me and mumbling something under his breath.

"Eh? What did you say?"

"I said...Happy Birthday, Naruto." He quickly turned around and left the room. I stared at the spot he had been in, and suddenly felt something wet sliding down my cheeks. I touched them and found out it was tears. I was crying. I opened the bag and started laughing, the tears sliding down my face and falling on my clothes.

"Th-this Teme...Giving me something like this...Really...And he calls me...St-stupid..." I managed to say between my laughing and hiccups. I bent myself forward, clutching the bag in my hands. 'Thank you, Sasuke.' I looked at the cup ramen in my hands, smiling.


	8. The Club

**-Sasuke's POV-**

"Sasuke? Oi, Sasuke, wake up." I slowly opened my eyes and found Suigetsu standing in front of me.

"Ugh, what happened? I remember researching what the clue could mean and then-Ouch!" I hissed when Suigetsu pulled a paper away from my cheek. Guess it got stuck there while I was sleeping. I rubbed my cheek to remove any ink that could've been left there.

"Damn Sasuke, this place looks worse than my room. How long have you been researching? Did you even go home, or did you sleep here?" I shrugged. I hadn't planned to fall asleep in the office but once I started researching, I lost track of the time.

"Anyway, I got you a cup of coffee. I still don't know how you can drink this without sugar. I'm going to interrogate a new prisoner with Ibiki, so I'll see you later." I thanked him for the drink and took a sip from the cup, hearing the door open and shut. I was sitting in one of the chairs in the archive room, where we kept all of the files of the prisoners and their cases. The room was filled with drawers that had files from many years ago. Most of the cases were finished, and those that weren't were stacked in different drawers. The drawers were on the left side of the room, and on the other side was the desk I was currently occupying. There were papers scattered all over the table, a laptop, printer and a trashcan filled with notes. "Boar is your aim, but you can get an extra from the fish." was the next clue. Naruto said that the boar is the clue for this month and if I managed to figure out the fish thing, I could get an extra but important clue. I sighed as I got up from the chair, popping my back and releasing a relieved sigh as my bones popped back into place. If I ever fall asleep at work again, I should try to at least drag myself to the couch or something more comfortable. Heck, even the floor would be better. Suddenly, I heard the door open and saw Suigetsu walk in again.

"Weren't you going to help Ibiki with the prisoner?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He just grinned at me and walked over to the desk, picking up the notes I had been writing.

"Yeah, but he told me he didn't need me, so I decided to grace you with my presence instead. As far as I can tell, you've been researching prisoners from 4 years ago?" I nodded.

"I'm looking up people that were connected to the Akatsuki. Maybe one of them has a fish tattoo or..." I stopped. I...wanted to punch myself. Really hard.

"Sasuke? You okay? Your smirk is creeping me out, please stop." I punched Suigetsu's arm before going to one of the drawers that had released prisoners' files in them. When I found the file I was looking for, I rushed to the laptop and typed the prisoner's code in. I smirked when I found the address I was looking for. I printed the information and grabbed my coat from the chair, putting it on.

"Sasuke, show me what you printed out! Did you find the prisoner you were looking for?"

"Yeah, I did." I said, putting the paper with the address in my pocket and walking to the door.

"I'm going to pay Hoshigake Kisame a visit."

* * *

The car I was driving slowed down to a stop in front of an alley. I was on the other side of the village, where the downtown area was located. This was the place where all the prostitutes, thugs, drunkards and drug dealers were. It was also where Kisame's club was. Kisame was a member of Akatsuki around the time Itachi joined, and he was his partner. After a while, he had decided that Akatsuki's motives were wrong and didn't go along with his sense of justice. He may have been a criminal but he never took a job that was against that sense. He would not share anything about Akatsuki though, since it was against the organization's rules, and even if he had left he decided to follow those rules. No matter how much they had tortured him, he had kept his mouth shut.

I would have asked Ibiki about the interrogation, since he had probably been the one that had done it but he was busy and I wasn't in the mood to wait. Kisame had willingly left the group and surrendered himself to the police. After being released from prison he went into the downtown area and made a club there. The place wasn't easy to find though. Since it was the downtown, it was a place that "normal" people didn't visit often. The police monitored it but they don't go around it too much. That meant that I only had a vague idea of where the club was located. Luckily, I managed to find out, after asking a few people that didn't look drunk or like they were going to steal my money any second, that there were people under Kisame's command going around the whole downtown area. They had a black jacket with a fishbone on the back. If you wanted to go to the club, you had to find one of those guys.

Problem was, they only let in girls that were looking for a job there. As you may have guessed, it was a strip club. If there was a guy that wanted to get in, they had to have money. A lot of money, which I didn't have. I was working separately, so the police department couldn't help me either. The higher ups would think that asking an ex-prisoner for help is ridiculous. I had gone to a friend that dealt with disguises for missions and asked him for a wig. I had to disguise myself as a girl sometimes for infiltration missions. I had a slim and fair complexion, so I could just wear a long coat and boots. Luckily, it was almost winter, because I wasn't falling as low as wearing a skirt. I have more dignity than that, thank you very much. I put on the wig and looked at myself in the car's window. I had chosen a long-haired, black wig with a fringe. When I made sure the wig was in place, I turned around and started walking into the alley, my boots stepping on garbage and things I didn't want to identify.

As I kept walking deeper, the smell of sweat and filth grew stronger. People were finally starting to pass by me, all of them girls, and they gave me a curious and calculating glance before continuing on their way. Some of them were wearing normal clothes and others made me feel cold with the shortness of their shirts and skirts. When I walked out of the alley, I was met with a sort of big, round space that had more paths around it. Most of them had a dead end, and some looked like they continued on forever. The buildings surrounding the round space continued on both sides of the paths, basically making them into small alleyways. The buildings here weren't colorful and full of life, unlike the ones in the other parts of the village. The paint was falling off and most of the windows were broken. A few doors were hanging half-open, and I could see shadows passing over the windows, shouting and crashing sounds coming from some of the buildings. I ignored these things, since I could see my target standing on one of the paths. The man was with a fishbone jacket and he was smoking a cigarette and leaning on the wall of one of the buildings. I sighed deeply and started walking in that direction, my face changing into a timid and confused expression. I always felt weird when I did this but if I could find Kisame like this, I could bear it.

I walked closer to the man, walking past him and making sure he noticed me. Hearing footsteps behind me, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and slowed down my pace before I felt a tap on my shoulder.

'Perfect.' I thought, hiding a smirk and turning around. As I thought, the guy was looking at me with a lecherous gaze. He also seemed to be drunk, even thought I hadn't seen him drink but whatever, it just meant another advantage for me. I snapped back into reality when I felt a hand on my shoulder and the strong smell of alcohol and cigarettes hit me. I fought back a grimace and sent a shy half-smile to the guy.

"Excuse me, mister, do you know where I can find Kisame-san's club? I'm looking for a job there but I can't seem to find it." I said, making my voice high-pitched, averting my gaze to the ground and seeing the man grin from my peripheral vision.

"Well, little girl, I'd love to take you there but how about we have a little fun together before you go? I'm going to teach you the basics of your job." He said, moving his hand from my shoulder to my wrist. I just smiled at him and moved my other arm on the hand holding my wrist.

"Well mister, I'm afraid..." I said, clenching his hand, bending it, and making him let go of my wrist, "I don't have time to play with you." I finished, going back to my normal voice and putting a nonchalant mask on. The guy seemed to sober up and register the change in my voice. He tried to punch me with his free hand but I had already been prepared for it and caught it, pulling both of his hands down, making him stumble and land his face right onto my knee. He groaned and before he could get up, I circled behind him, putting my foot in the space between his shoulder blades and pulling both of his arms backwards.

"Tell me where Kisame's club is, and you'll keep your arms." The guy just laughed but yelped when I pulled his hands again, bending them painfully. "I'm not repeating myself again. Tell me or your arms will suffer the consequences of your silence." I said, giving a final pull, before he gave up.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell ya! Just leave my arms alone, please! Kisame-san's place is located down this road. You have to go left after exiting this road and right after exiting you will see some steps on your left side. You go down them and the club is there." He said quickly, sweating nervously, his eyes moving back and forth between my face and the ground. I released one of his arms and quickly pressed a pressure point on his neck, knocking him out. I followed the guy's directions and, as he said, I arrived at some stairs.

I went down the stairs and opened a door. There was a short hall, and at the end of it there was a double black door. Problem was, there were two guards standing in front of it, and they didn't look drunk or friendly. They looked at me and exchanged a look between them, signaling something to each other. I shuffled nervously, trying to keep my act up. I thought one of the men was going to lead me to Kisame, until I felt a tug at my wig and then my face met the ground. A guy held me in place, judging by the heavy weight on top of me, and the big hand holding my head down. I could hear footsteps coming closer. There was a pair of boots standing in front of my face now but I couldn't see anything else from my position. I heard the owner of the boots start to speak in a deep voice.

"I've held this club long enough to be able to recognize a woman's body, kid. Don't think I can be fooled that easily." I saw the person crouch down and felt a tug at my hair. I was met with the face of Hoshigake Kisame. He was wearing black jeans and a black biker's jacket, which was open, showing a white T-shirt underneath with the fishbone logo on it. Kisame had small but sharp, shark-like black eyes and really pale skin with a bluish tint to it. He also had gills tattooed on his neck, making his appearance even more shark-like. I could see recognition and confusion shine in his eyes but before he could say anything, I decided to act.

"I know you probably thought of Uchiha Itachi right now. I'm his younger brother, Sasuke. I came to talk to you about Itachi. He left me a sort of messenger, and I get one clue from that messenger every month. When I get all of the clues, I should be able to find Itachi. This month I got an extra clue that led me to you. So, can I ask you some questions about it?" I quickly said. If he didn't agree I would have to leave and resort to the police's help. I heard Kisame sigh, signaling for his companion to let me go and releasing his hold on my hair in the process.

"Follow me." He said as I got up from the floor and dusted my clothes off. I threw the wig in a trashcan that was in the hall and followed Kisame into the club. If I had to be honest, I hated clubs. The music was way too loud and the crowd was so big you felt like sardines mashed into a tin can. The club was really big and I already felt the headache coming from the music. There were people dancing on the dance floor, which took up the middle of the room. On the left side was the bar with some passed out people on it and some that looked ready to fall over too. On the right side, there were tables with chairs, where the more sober part of the club was located. There was a staircase on each side of the club that led to the second floor. The second floor was basically just a long path that circled the whole club and in the middle of the path was the DJ. The rest of the path was filled with doors and I followed Kisame to one of them. We went inside and I sighed as the volume of the music dropped and my headache receded.

I looked around the room and was surprised when I found it full of pictures on the walls. I couldn't recognize the people in the pictures but all of them had the fishbone logo either on their jackets or T-shirts. The walls were a pale blue color, and there was a rough black carpet in the middle of the room, where Kisame's desk was located. There were two big windows at the wall opposite the door and two black chairs in front of Kisame's desk. He motioned for me to sit in one of them and began to talk.

"Well, can you tell me what your clue was?" He asked, lighting a cigarette. I frowned at the smell, but decided not to comment on it.

"Boar is your aim but you can get an extra from the fish." I said, and almost jumped in surprise when he started laughing.

"I should have expected something as abstract as this from that guy. He always had a weird way of speaking" I nodded reluctantly.

"Anyway, there's one thing Itachi gave me and said that it's for his "foolish little brother". I thought he was joking but I should have known Itachi never jokes." Kisame said and opened one of his desk's drawers, pulling out a small black box. He gave it to me, and I opened it. My eyes widened, and I almost dropped the box on the floor.

"Is something wrong, kid?" I snapped my head up and shook it, placing the box in my pocket.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for your help, Kisame-san." I said, really meaning it.

"Just Kisame is fine, kid." He grinned and I felt myself smirk back.

"Thanks again. I'll be going." I said, getting up and going to the door.

"If you need to move your stiff ass, you can come here anytime!" I heard Kisame say between laughs, and I just shook my head, waving back at him and exiting the office. I quickly walked out of the club and climbed the stairs leading outside. I stopped and opened the box again. The Uchiha clan's symbol glared back at me. The symbol looked like it was taken from a bracelet or a necklace. The light was shining off of it, and I felt my headache returning, knowing where I had to go. I groaned, putting the box back into my pocket and starting to walk back to my car.

'Guess it's time to visit the clan.'


	9. The Clan

**-Sasuke's POV-**

It was the beginning of December, and I still hadn't gone to visit the clan. I was walking to the interrogation room to get the next clue from Naruto. The echoing of my footsteps made my headache worse. I had a nightmare again and I was sure the bags under my eyes were visible. I knew I had to visit the clan but I couldn't bring myself to go there. The place brought up too many memories. I reached the interrogation room and opened the door, the grinding of metal against the floor increasing the pounding in my head. When I walked in I saw Naruto, surprisingly sitting patiently, and an officer waiting there to escort him back to his cell when I finished talking to him. I pulled a chair and sat down, looking tiredly at him. I was hoping he wouldn't be his usual screeching self, or I may accidently strangle him.

"What's the next word?" I asked, getting ready to jot it down and go back to my office. I didn't have a lot of work to do, so after I finish what's left, I may take a quick nap. I realized I was getting lost in my thoughts, holding the pen for at least two minutes now. And the idiot still hadn't said a word. "Well, Dobe?" That seemed to snap him out of his trance. I looked down at the paper again, ready to write, when his next words made me freeze in my seat.

"You still haven't gone, have you?" I sharply looked at him, wondering how he knew what the clue meant. Maybe he had hidden the meaning from me?

"How do you know that the clue meant I should visit the clan?" He grinned at that, tilting his head to the left. He looked like a sly fox right now, with his whisker-like marks stretched at a weird angle.

"This is a prison. Did you really think news wouldn't fly around about your predicament? There are a few people here that have relatives working for Kisame and their relatives had overheard your conversation. They had worked for Kisame for a long time and managed to link two and two together. The relatives came to visit their friends and family here, and the news slowly spread from there. It was by chance I heard two guys talking about it at lunch. So, my question is, if you still haven't gone….are you afraid to go there?" That question was one I had been expecting but after actually hearing it, the realization hit me hard. I had been trying to deny it but I knew I was hesitating. Usually, I would have gone straight away but that place was different. I felt like the moment I stepped in there and met with him, I was going to feel like a child again, waiting for him to scold me and tell me how I'm not good enough. I took a deep breath, just now noticing my hand was trembling, and looked the blonde in the eyes.

"Yeah, I am. But I will go there, because I promised to myself I will do anything to catch my brother." I firmly said, and I could see surprise flash in the blonde's eyes, before he grinned again.

"The word for December is brothers!" He said, changing his voice into a ridiculous imitation of a game show host. I smirked a little, wrote it down, and got up to walk out. "Good luck, Teme! Don't you dare chicken out, okay?"

"Hn. You wish, Dobe." I said before getting out of the room. My headache wasn't as bad as before for some reason. I went back to my office, put my coat with the box inside on, and told an officer to inform the others that I was going to be away for some personal business, and if they needed something to go ask Suigetsu. After going outside, I went inside my car and started driving to the clan head's house. After arriving there I parked in an alley near the house.

I took a deep breath, my hands gripping the steering wheel hard as I mentally prepared myself for a meeting I didn't want to ever have. I stepped out of the car, immediately pulling my coat closer around myself as I felt the chilling wind hitting my body. I walked out of the alley and near the household. This was the house where the clan head lived at. It was probably a stretch to call it a house, since it was bigger than that. It had three floors and the walls were painted a plain white color. The clan's symbol, a red and white fan, was painted proudly on the entrance gate. The gate had two guards standing on each side of it. Both of the guards were dressed in black suits and had a stoic expression on their face. There was a brown fence circling the whole house, and I could see the mini courtyard on the other side. The guards tensed when I came closer and I stepped in front of them, carefully wording my next sentence.

"I would like to have a meeting with the clan head." I said. It was probably a little too straightforward but there was no need to beat around the bush. The more I twisted my sentence, the more suspicious they would get.

"We are sorry, sir, but the clan head is busy at the moment and asked not to be disturbed by anyone."

"There is something very important I have to discuss with him. Now. I know he is a busy man but I'm sure he will spare some time to talk with me once he sees me." This was going to be hard. The old guards would have recognized me but I guess it was too much to hope they weren't replaced. I was sure the guards were going to politely tell me to fuck off but then an old voice stopped them.

"Sasuke-sama?" I turned to the source of the voice and saw a man I knew very well. He was looking through the fence, probably to check what the commotion was about. He was a butler that had been in charge of taking care of me while my parents were busy when I still lived in this house.

"Norou-san. It's nice to see you after such a long time." I said, bowing slightly in his direction. The old man smiled and went out of view for a second, probably to open the gate. He hadn't really changed much. Still looked like one of those old, happy grandpas you wouldn't mind being around. He had white hair slicked back and piercing blue eyes that always made me feel uncomfortable when I was little. I turned my attention back to the guards and Norou, when I realized he had managed to convince them to open the gate for me. I took a deep breath before walking through the memories I had been repressing for a long time surfaced back, and this time I couldn't just wake up because it wasn't one of my nightmares. It was reality and I had to suck it up and do what I came here for.

I followed Norou through the short path to the door. The path would be surrounded with flowers if it wasn't winter. I remembered how I had helped my mother plant some flowers. I had done a terrible job at it but she had just smiled and re-planted them after I was done messing around. I slightly smiled at the memory, one of the only happy ones I had of this place. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the front door creak. Norou had opened it for me and I took off my shoes before stepping inside. The place was still the same as before. The wooden floor, different works of art on the walls and endless looking corridors. Norou led me to my father's office and I was starting to dread our meeting after every step I made. We finally arrived at the door to my father's office. Even if the building had an old and traditional look to it, most of the furniture was up to date. Norou knocked on the door and I waited next to him, feeling myself sweat.

"Come in." I heard a strong, deep voice and I froze as Norou opened the door. I couldn't do it after all. After all of the mental preparation, I still froze when I saw my father in the room. He was sitting on his desk, writing furiously on some document, not even looking up at me. My mother was also there, standing next to his desk. Once she saw me she gasped and I could see tears gathering in her eyes.

"Sasuke? Is that you?" She whispered but it sounded like she shouted the words in the deadly silent room. My father's head snapped up so fast that I was surprised he didn't snap anything. He got up from his desk and I could see a mix of agitation and confusion in his eyes. I stepped forward, Norou closing the door behind me and I knew he was going to wait outside. I bowed to my father before speaking.

"I would like to talk with you concerning a certain case. Uchiha Itachi has left me clues that may lead me to him, and the latest one led me here. I would like to ask for permission to look around his old room." There was a long silence that followed my request, and I didn't move from my position, waiting for my father to speak. I looked up when I heard a bang. My father had punched the table, making some of the papers slip to the ground and a cup of coffee he had on his desk fall down and break, the coffee spilling and staining the floor.

"You dare to come back here after I forbid you to? I told you not to step a foot inside this house. I do not care about your demands. You will get out of here right now, or I will get you out by force." He said, a stone mask taking over his face but I could see anger in his eyes. I clenched my hands and took a deep breath. I needed to stay calm. Stay calm.

"This could help the investigation a lot. I did not come here to anger you. I remember what you said to me very clearly but I didn't have a choice except to come here myself."

"You could have send another officer." He said. I could see my mother getting restless, looking between me and my father. I steeled my gaze at my father's exclamation.

"You know better than anyone else that I wouldn't send anyone else. Itachi is going to be caught by me. It's my case and I will finish it. I'm sorry to say this but you don't have a say in the matter. Either you let me inspect Itachi's room now or I come back here with a full squad."

"This is my house and I make the rules here. Get out. Now."

"I won't. Last time I couldn't oppose you. I wasn't strong enough. This time I'm not under your house and I am not obliged to follow your rules." At that my father snapped and walked briskly to me, catching my shirt and pulling it. I could see utter fury in his eyes.

"You dare to talk like this to your father, you disobedient child! I kicked you out of this house once, I can do it again!" He shouted at me, shaking my shirt. I looked coldly at him and got ready to block the punch that was coming but suddenly a pale, slender hand was holding my father's back.

"Fugaku, please stop." My mother whispered.

"I will not let this brat talk back to me. Let me go, Mikoto." He said, roughly pulling his hand away. My mother looked sharply at him, before catching his hand again.

"No. The first time I didn't do anything. I just let you have your way. This time you _will_ let me see my son or I swear I will leave and never come back here again." She said, and this was the first time I saw hesitation flash in my father's eyes. He sighed and let my shirt go, going back and sitting on his chair.

"Go. This is the first and last time, though. I do not want to see your face here again, Sasuke." He said and turned back to his papers. My mother looked ecstatic at that and I quickly bowed, before following her out of the office. Once we were out, she pulled me into a tight hug, and I hesistantly hugged her back. It had been a long time since I had hugged anyone, and I felt awkward but happy in her embrace.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried for you. How are you? Are you eating healthily? Do you need money for anything? Do-"

"Mom, I'm okay, don't worry." I said, flashing her a small smile. She also smiled at me and after calming down, she led me to Itachi's room. Norou had just smiled at us and wished me luck in my investigation, before saying he had to go back to work. After walking to the second floor, and continuing down the left hallway there, we passed by my old room, and I stopped in front of it for a second.

"You can go in if you want to, honey." My mother said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head. I came for a reason, and I would probably get distracted if I went in my room. Had too many memories in there. We continued till the end of the hall, stopping at the last door. My mother opened it and we walked inside. "It hasn't been touched at all after he left." She said, looking sadly at the room. I clenched my hands, feeling myself grow more determined. I didn't know if I would catch Itachi but I knew I didn't want to see that kind of expression on her face again. I started searching through the room. To be honest, I didn't know what I was supposed to look for. I wasn't even sure if I had to search his room but it was the first place I thought he would hide something in. I sighed after half an hour of looking through the room. My mother had left me to search around, and just now came back with two cups of tea, offering me one. I took it and we sat on the bed. I was thinking where to look at next when my mother spoke.

"Now that I think about it, you mentioned Itachi gave you a clue, right? Can I see it?" I nodded and got the box out of my coat's pocket. I gave the box to her and she gasped when she opened it. "This is from one of my bracelets. I thought I had lost it long ago, I didn't think I'd find it this way."

"It's yours? Where did you lose it?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I remember I was coming into this room to leave Itachi's clothes. I opened the wardrobe and after I put them there I went back downstairs. That night we were having dinner, and that's when I realized I had lost it. We searched through the rooms that I had gone into but we didn't find it."

"When exactly did that happen?"

"Well, Itachi was still here… I can't say for sure. I remember I was in this room, though. And somehow, I have the feeling that Itachi wouldn't leave a clue anywhere else, where anybody could find it. This room hasn't been opened since he left." I thought about what she said. It did make sense for Itachi to leave the clue here but I had searched the whole place. Still, if the bracelet was my mother's, it is possible Itachi had picked it up to use it as a clue. I walked back to the wardrobe when I heard a loud creak. The floor was wooden but it had a black and white carpet over it.

'Could it be…?' I thought, crouching down and removing the carpet. I got up and stepped on the planks one by one. One of them creaked loudly and I smirked, removing the plank. My mother came next to me, curiously looking over my shoulder. I found an envelope under the plank. I got the envelope and opened it.

"If you're reading this, then you actually managed to figure out the clues I left you. You could think of this next clue as an extra. It is a seperate one from the monthly clues but it will be useful in the long run. Good luck, foolish little brother." I read out loud. I turned the letter around and the word "fear" was written there. I put the letter back in my pocket, sighing. So far the clues were a jumbled mess but I hoped they would make sense in the end. Right now they were like an unfinished puzzle. All I needed to do was collect the missing pieces. I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt my mother touch my shoulder.

"I…I probably won't see you again for a long time but promise me. Promise me you will stay safe." She sternly said, her piercing black eyes staring intently at me.

"I'll try." I said. I couldn't promise her anything but I think she knew that. She just smiled at me. She walked with me to the main gate. I saw Norou there. He bowed at me and said his goodbye. My mother hugged me, her body shivering from the cold. "I should go. And you too. You're going to catch a cold like this." She just hugged me tighter, and I could feel my coat getting wet. She was crying.

"I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, mom." I said and with that I walked out of the gate. After getting inside my car I took a deep breath that I hadn't realised I was holding in. That night, I didn't have a nightmare.


	10. Volleyball Pills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me. I know it has been ages since I uploaded but I had a problem with this fic. I had the ending for this in mind since Chapter 2 but the middle part of the fic was kind of a blank for me. So, I made a Chapter Build, so to speak, had a big dose of inspiration, and kind of, maybe, finished the fic lol. Now I just need to extend every chapter and actually write the story...BUT, anyway, the point is that this fic actually has a storyline now meaning I know what to write now~ That doesn't mean that I'll update faster though, lol I'm still a slow and lazy little shit.

**-Normal POV-**

"Bring it up, you guys!"

"Ugh, man, that was an easy one!"

"Sorry, sorry, I'll get the next one." This was the type of conversation that could be heard around the court. Sometimes, the prisoners would be let out of their cells to the big yard behind the prison. There were basketball hoops there but the prisoners had put up a volleyball net and were currently playing. Most of the people playing were younger prisoners. The older ones were either lazing around or playing cards that were nicely given to them by one of the guards in the more secluded parts of the yard. There was a high fence circling the yard and you could see guards standing at the corners of the fence and of course at the entrance, too. Naruto and Sakura were playing volleyball but they were on different teams.

Now, here was the thing. You didn't play a sport with Sakura as your opponent without getting hurt. She slammed the ball down in your face and you felt like a mule stomped on you for the rest of the day. Most people just avoided her serves, too afraid their arms might break. Naruto wasn't one of those people. He went headfirst into her serves but sadly his skills weren't as good as his enthusiasm. Or his focus. While Sakura was preparing to serve another of her killing balls, the blonde man looked up for a second and something caught his eye in one of the prison's windows. There was a person moving in what he assumed was the infirmary, if his memory wasn't betraying him. Naruto couldn't mistake that duck butt hairstyle anywhere.

'What's that asshole doing in the medical office? He looks like hell would freeze over before he even produced something remotely close to a sniff _.'_ Even as the blonde thought that, he couldn't help but feel worried about the raven haired man.

"Naruto, watch out!" The blonde snapped his head back to the court and was met with a ball straight to his face. Mainly, his nose. He fell down from the shock of the blow, not expecting it. He knew Sakura could hit hard but _dammit_ it hurt. He groaned in pain, touching his nose gently and cringing when he felt sharp pain shoot through it. Sakura rushed to his side, mumbling apologies.

"Oh God Naruto, I'm so sorry! I saw that you were spacing out at the last second and couldn't stop my swing. Let me see your nose." She crouched down, gently touching his nose, making him hiss in pain.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'm sure it's not broken or anything. You didn't hit me _that_ hard and I can still breathe normally through it, even if it hurts like a bitch. It's okay."

"Okay, my ass! It's starting to bleed!" Naruto placed a hand under his nose, and indeed it was bleeding. Huh, he actually hadn't felt it start to bleed. The pink haired girl got up and went to one of the guards at the entrance.

"Excuse me, the guy over there got hit with a ball and his nose may be broken. Could we possibly bring him to the infirmary?" The guard hesitated for a bit but nodded, albeit reluctantly. The place may be a prison but that didn't mean they had to treat their prisoners like shit. If they did, half of them would probably be dead by now. The guard walked over to Naruto, putting handcuffs on the blonde and leading him out of the courtyard to the infirmary. When they used the elevator, the machine made a weird screeching noise and Naruto heard the guard mutter a few curses and things about taking a look at the machine later. When they arrived to the infirmary and opened the door, the guard was startled to see Sasuke sitting on the bed there. The Uchiha seemed just as startled, dropping a bottle that he had been holding and spilling the pills inside on the floor.

"Ah, Mr. Uchiha, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." The guard nervously said, making a move to crouch down and collect the pills but the Uchiha just waved a dismissive hand at the man.

"It's not a problem. What is your business here?" Sasuke asked and just then noticed the blonde haired man behind the guard. The raven stiffened, feeling like he was entering a tense situation. The guard seemed oblivious to his superior's sudden discomfort.

"One of the prisoners got hit with a ball to the face and his nose may be broken. I wasn't really sure if I should bring him here for such a minor thing but his nose started to bleed too, so I decided it was best if it got checked. But the nurse seems to be absent..." The guard trailed off awkwardly.

"Her shift starts after one hour. I'll take a look at him, so you can go back to your post. The prisoners should be getting back in their cells soon." The guard was about to protest, since leaving his superior with a prisoner seemed atrocious to him but his protests died down when the Uchiha leveled him with one of his famous glares. The guard quickly bowed and exited the room. The Uchiha unlocked the blonde's handcuffs, pointing at the bed while he crouched back down on the floor. "You can sit on the bed while I collect the pills." Sasuke casually said, and almost sighed when another pair of arms started collecting the fallen pills. The Uzumaki was being unusually quiet but the raven decided to ignore it for now, too tired to care.

He had been running himself ragged, trying to figure out the clues and just getting more and more frustrated. In the end, just a few words couldn't help him find Itachi, and he knew the elders were getting impatient. He was scared that, even if he was the one that wanted to catch Itachi the most, if he didn't produce some sort of result soon, the case would be taken from him. He finished collecting the pills, leaving the bottle on the nurse's desk and opening one of the drawers there that had a first aid kit in it. Sasuke walked back to the blonde, taking out a tampon to gently dab at the blood running from the Uzumaki's nose. He felt his breath hitch, giving out a startled yelp when the blonde haired man grabbed his wrist, bright blue eyes piercing his own black ones.

"Those pills...they are stimulants, aren't they? Look, asshole, I _know_ you don't want to listen to anybody but I don't want to watch you collapse from sleep deprivation. I'm sure everybody knows how much you want to catch Itachi but not taking care of yourself is not the way to do it. Heck, I'm sure he knew you were going to do this, therefore he made this big gap between the clues. I know you're probably frustrated. Hell, I'd be too if a criminal was giving me clues on how to catch him but I'm sure there is a reason behind all of this. And I'm sure you're going to find that reason. So, now, take a break and go home to get actual sleep. You won't be able to catch Itachi if you can barely stand on your feet."

Man, seriously. This idiot wasn't good for his health. He shouldn't even be listening to him. But even as Sasuke thought that he knew than he was going to listen to the blonde anyway. The raven hared man sighed, getting an ice pack from the kit, and placing it on the blonde's nose. "Ow, ow! _Gently_ , bastard, _gently._ Don't you know what gentle is?" The blonde was complaining, holding the ice pack to his nose. He missed the small smile the raven gave him.

"Whatever, Dobe. We should get you back in your cell now." Sasuke said, picking up the handcuffs and putting them back on the blonde's hands. They exited the infirmary and Naruto felt like he was forgetting something important as they walked to the elevator.

' _Wait, elevator? Oh n-'_ The blonde thought but it was already too late. They had entered the elevator and he heard the same screeching noise, this time a lot louder. The lights in the elevator flashed and flickered out. The machine screeched again, and sharply dropped. The blonde lost his balance and fell, colliding with the raven haired man. Suddenly the elevator stopped and Naruto realized he was lying on Sasuke's chest on the floor. In a dark elevator. In a dark currently broken elevator.

' _Well, shit.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short but think of this as a chapter that will lead the way to a bigger chapter. Finally it's time to fucking deepen these two idiots' relationship. And yes I HAD to use an elevator scene sue me. R&R and cya in the next chapter~


	11. Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry C":

The elevator's lights were flickering back to life, casting an eerie glow over the place. Naruto groaned and opened his eyes, finding his face planted on a white shirt. The blond felt his face heating up when he realized the position he was in. He was lying on top of Sasuke, his face resting on the raven's stomach.

"Oi, Sasuke, I'd really appreciate it if you moved me. I'm still handcuffed." The blue eyed man mumbled and waited for an answer but when he received none, he craned his neck to look at the raven and realized the man was unconscious. He was propped against the wall but his head was tilted to the side in an uncomfortable looking position, and he had almost slid fully to the floor. Naruto had gone pale upon realizing the situation they were in. The elevator was stuck between two floors, he was bound, Sasuke was unconscious, meaning he had probably banged his head in the wall when the elevator malfunctioned, and there was no way to know when help would arrive. Naruto knew there will be people fixing the elevator soon but they didn't know there were people in here and if they made a wrong move or touched a thin wire they could send Naruto and Sasuke to their deaths.

Normally, maybe (he has never been stuck in an elevator before, so he didn't know the procedures) the people would shout or do something to check if there was anyone in the elevator but this was different. This place was a prison and everybody had their own tasks. They followed a schedule. And currently, from what he had gathered while being in this place, the prisoners were having lunch and the officers were either in the office, guarding the prisoners or patrolling outside. There was no reason for anyone to use the elevator. And the scariest part was that if someone did decide to use the machine now, the elevator may malfunction again and actually drop down. Naruto wasn't planning to wait to see if that happened. He also had to check on Sasuke. He couldn't really tell if the head injury was bad or if there even was one from his position but he had to check.

He tried to pull his legs to stand on them and after managing to lift his face and stand in a crouch he slowly moved backwards, since he had been between Sasuke's legs as well. After that he lifted himself up and went to Sasuke's left side to search for the key to his handcuffs. He went as close to the raven as he could, sat down so his back was facing the raven and craned his neck so he could see where his hands were. He reached for the left pocket and after searching through it he cursed. It was empty. With some effort he got back up and checked the other pocket. The key was there and with a lot of effort and straining of his wrist he managed to put it in the keyhole. After he unlocked and removed his cuffs, he immediately turned to check up on Sasuke. He gently grabbed the raven's shoulders and placed him so he was lying on the blonde's lap. Naruto turned the raven's head and inspected it, and except for a really big bump there didn't seem to be any other problems.

The blonde let out a sigh of relief and removed his jacket, making a pillow out of it and moving the raven there. His legs were going to go numb if he had to stay in that position for too long. He rested his back on the wall and looked down at the sleeping black haired man. He really couldn't understand the guy. One minute he's the Queen Bitch with his holier than thou attitude, and the next he's... The blonde frowned. He's what? The word friend went through his head but it didn't feel right. It didn't feel enough to describe his relationship with Sasuke, even though considering their positions, him being a prisoner and Sasuke an officer, he should probably be happy if the raven even let him be his friend.

His musing was cut short as the elevator let out a screech and he tensed, preparing himself for a fall but nothing happened. He was about to sigh in relief before the flickering lights went completely out and he was left in complete darkness. His breath hitched and he was suddenly aware of how very tight this place was. He could feel anxiety building up in his gut and a heavy feeling settling itself in the pit of his stomach. The male hadn't even registered he had scooted himself in one of the elevator's corners, knees pulled up and hands clutching his head, his eyes seeing things that weren't there. The cold metal wall turned into a hard wooden one along with the floor. He was sitting in the same position but he was back in that house. The TV was lighting up the dark room, sounds from the show playing on it echoing in the place that smelled of old food, cigarettes and alcohol.

The blonde could hear the creaking of the boards and _he was moving towards him with the broken bottle, the drops of liquid falling on the ground with a soft tap. She was behind him, eyes wide with fear, hair stuck to her face and arms pulled around her as if hugging herself to isolate the events happening before her, to say it's just a bad, bad dream. But his vision switched back to the man and the half-broken bottle_ _in his hand. He was getting closer and closer, his eyes bloodshot and clouded from the cheap liquid travelling through his veins and clouding his mind. Then he saw the knife (oh, the knife), and he picked it up and pushed it deep, the sound of clothes and flesh ripping apart echoing in the room. The man fell, his eyes going blank, the shock fading from them, leaving them looking empty. Lifeless. The knife was left inside the man and the blonde looked at his hand, and then at her. She was scared, he could tell. He looked like that a lot. She screamed and he screamed, and the TV continued playing on its unimportant show and they_ _ **screamed**_ -

"Naruto! Naruto, snap out of it!" The blonde was violently snapped back into reality and his previously unfocused eyes cleared. He was clenching his head, crying and hyperventilating. His throat felt raw and his body trembled but he couldn't stop screaming. Why couldn't he stop? Why?

His screaming was halted when he felt arms embracing him, and his face was pressed against a soft shirt. _Sasuke_. "Calm down. Everything's okay. I'm here." The blonde would have laughed at the fact that Sasuke was comforting someone if he wasn't shaking like a leaf. He clutched the raven's shirt and held onto it until his erratic sobs died down. He stayed in that position for a while longer until his trembling stopped.

"Heh, s-sorry. Didn't mean to do that. I'm fine now. Really. I'm fine." The blonde felt like he was reassuring himself more than the raven. He heard Sasuke sigh before he was released and the blonde immediately felt the lack of warmth. He didn't know how to explain to Sasuke why he had been screaming like a lunatic. "Uh, Sa-"

"You don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to. I know what you went through to some extend and I'm sure you're exhausted mentally. You can tell me another time. Instead fill me in on what happened while I was out." The blonde man could instantly feel relief coursing through his body at the raven's words. He felt emotionally drained and he was glad Sasuke didn't press him for answers that would be hard to give but maybe someday he would tell the raven. He knew Sasuke had his own nightmares to deal with. Nightmares he couldn't run away from. Naruto at least had been spared from those. Or he had spared himself from them.

He suddenly felt a strong need to help the black haired man. He didn't know how, and he still didn't know what the raven exactly meant to him but the blonde promised himself he would help him one day. He shook his head after that and explained to the raven what had transpired while he was out. Naruto couldn't see Sasuke but he could imagine his frown at the new information and at his apparent bump. The males were startled when a sudden vibration was felt and a small light filled one of the elevator's corners. Naruto watched as Sasuke got up (he had apparently been sitting in front of the blonde after the hug) and walked over to the light. It was the Uchiha's phone and somebody was calling. He swiped his finger and answered the call, putting it on speaker.

"Hey Sasuke, where are you? I need you to help me with the elevator. It seems like it crashed. Can you give me the technicians' number?" Suigetsu's voice echoed in the small place.

"Sorry to break it to you but I'm stuck in the elevator with Na-a prisoner. The elevator fell while we were inside but luckily it only got stuck and didn't crash down and kill us. I'll tell you the technicians' number. Call them immediately."

"Oh, shit dude. Ok, I'm listening." After Sasuke recited the number and finished his call, he turned his phone's flashlight on and left it in the middle of the elevator. A soft white light filled the small space and the blonde could feel his muscles relax immediately. He whispered a small thank you and Sasuke leaned on the wall next to him. Now they just had to wait. After around half an hour the elevator's door was forcefully opened with what seemed like a crowbar. Before the door was fully opened the blonde had gotten up and taken the handcuffs, putting them back on and gesturing for Sasuke to lock them again.

"It'd be weird if I was without them. Besides, I'll be escorted back to my cell after this." The blonde explained and grinned, his mood much better than before. The raven had agreed and quickly locked them just as the door was forced fully open. It seemed like the elevator was stuck right between two floors and it was easy to pull the two males out, even if two people had to pull Naruto up by his shoulders due to his bound hands. There were two officers, one of them the same one that had led Naruto to the nursery, the technicians and Suigetsu. Suigetsu had quickly ordered the officers to take Naruto back to his cell, before turning to talk to Sasuke. The blonde had turned around and shot a cheeky grin at the Uchiha.

"Don't go spilling our _dark_ secrets, Sasuke!" He was surprised when the raven had answered him with a smirk.

"I won't. You can trust me on that one, Naruto." The blonde had nervously laughed and turned away, letting the officers lead him back to his cell. He could feel his face heating up and he huffed. He had been joking but the raven was serious. Damn that bastard.

* * *

The hallway was dark and small, illuminated only by the light bulbs above. The officer that had escorted Naruto to the nursery was walking through it. The whole place was underground but the floors were tiled and the walls were a fresh white color. The officer's footsteps echoed loudly as he walked to the door at the end of the hall and knocked on it.

"Enter." A stern voice said from the other side. When the officer entered he looked nervously around the room but when his eyes landed on his boss he crouched down on one knee, head down and back straight. The room was better lit than the hall but definitely more suffocating and scary with the imposing figure sitting in the middle of it behind a dark wooden desk. The boss leaned forward and crossed his hands in front of his face, making him look even more detached and imposing from the officer's position. Two of his underlings were standing on either side of his desk. The room was void of any other furniture, except a drawer in one of the corners.

"Report." The crouching man straightened his posture even more, shoulders tense with the impending punishment he was going to receive after his boss heard the bad news.

"The mission was a fail. There was an opportunity to eliminate the Uchiha and another prisoner named Uzumaki Naruto but I didn't have enough time to cut the elevator's cables enough for them to break because they came to use it. So I closed the top of the elevator, got out and went back to my post. I was called after that to escort the prisoner back to his cell, since the elevator got stuck and they were rescued." The officer finished his report and let out a sharp scream of pain when a bullet went through his shoulder but he only clutched his wound and remained in his position.

"This is your first and final warning. Not only did the Uchiha survive but you almost killed the only person who knows anything about Itachi, you incompetent fool. If you mess up again I _will_ kill you and your family. I'm preparing to take the prison from that useless Uchiha brat's hands, so I'm going to take him and his best dogs out of the picture. I will send a false lead about Itachi. That brat would jump at any lead he gets and I'll make sure it's believable enough for him to take his best men. You will kill the person left in charge and I will take it from there. I gave that Uchiha enough time to get his needed information but after that meeting I'm sure I can't leave it to him. A person has to be ruthless to get what they want sometimes. Collecting clues and wasting so much precious time is unacceptable. This is going to be the biggest operation yet. And," The boss stood up and came closer to the officer, placing his gun in the middle of the shaking man's forehead. "There will be no mistakes. Or else. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Danzō-sama."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry!(not really) Because it's only gonna get angstier from here~ Hope ya enjoyed!


	12. Moving Pieces

The whole prison building was in chaos, mainly the Uchiha's office. There were people running around with papers, and some were typing furiously on their computers with a half-finished coffee cup next to them. The one that was the most stressed out though, was Sasuke. He had shadows under his eyes, his hair was a mess, and his suit was crumpled in several places. The Uchiha had fallen asleep on his desk again, and he had been startled out of his nap when Suigetsu barged into his office, almost tripping over his own feet. He had shoved a picture in the raven's face, and Sasuke had been ready to kick him out, before he actually saw the photograph. It was from a security camera, and he even recognized the store in the shot. The person walking out of the store was unmistakable, even though his disguise was very good. It was Itachi.

After that a furious tracking of the camera and the places around the store had begun. They had been ready to give up, when they found another camera footage. Itachi was leaning on a lamp near another store, and another man, dressed in a waiter's uniform, passed by him. When the footage was slowed down, Itachi could be seen putting a piece of paper in the waiter's pocked as the man walked by. Everybody was sure that the Uchiha was already gone but they could try and find the waiter. When the footage was rewound, they paused and zoomed in on the waiter's back, where his restaurant's insignia was. After printing out a picture of the insignia, the Uchiha had gotten up from his desk and turned to the people waiting for orders.

"Suigetsu, you're going to come with me and help me with the tracking and capture of this man. Ibiki, you're coming as well. We'll have to interrogate him on the spot. I think Itachi will be far away when we find the man but we may get a lead from him. Mamoru, I'm leaving you in charge here while I'm gone. You're dismissed." A chorus of "Yes, sir!" echoed in the room, before everybody went to do their tasks.

* * *

The soft tap of a chess piece being placed on the board could be heard in the room. Smoke from one of the players' pipe was drifting through the air. The room was Japanese-styled, with sliding doors and tatami flooring. The chess board was placed on a low table in the centre of the room, along with two pillows, which the two players sat on. The room was located near the house's garden, so one of the sliding doors that looked over it was open, letting in fresh morning air. A low sigh could be heard from the smoking man, before he released a puff of smoke and moved his own piece.

"I feel like I'm getting too old for these games. I'm not as good as I used to be."

"I could say the same, Hiruzen. But this is a good exercise for the mind and we need to keep our minds as sharp as possible at this age." Danzō commented, before he moved another piece. He was always better at making strategic plays, and he was sure he would win after a few more moves. Now was the time to act. He waited for Sarutobi to make his move, before he pretended to think about his own for a while, and then he started talking. "There was something specific I wanted to discuss with you today."

The other man sighed, probably already expecting this turn of events. After all, Danzō never did anything without a hidden motive behind. "It's about the prison under the Uchiha's watch. I know you had pitied him and accepted his mother's proposal for him to work there. I can't say he isn't managing the place sufficiently but the brat doesn't have enough backbone to make extreme decisions, Hiruzen. You heard his opinion about Itachi's case. As much as I'd like to trust him, I think we both know that a criminal wouldn't just leave a trail for someone to sniff him out and find him." Sarutobi hummed in agreement, his browns furrowing as the other man made a big move.

"I can see where you're coming from, but what do you want me to do about this?"

"I'd like to hold a meeting with the elders again and make a proposal." Tap. Tap. Five moves left.

"Oh? And what proposal would that be?" Four moves.

"I'll ask to get full control of the brat's prison, and get their agreement to use more drastic measures to extract the rest of the information about Itachi from the Uzumaki." Danzō declared. The smoking man tensed, a warning flashing in his eyes. Three moves left.

"You know that torture is something both me and the elders disapprove of, Danzō. There is no need for unnecessary violence." Two moves left.

"Oh, but there _is_ , Hiruzen. There is no guarantee that what the Uzumaki is saying is true. We might as well be falling into Itachi's hands. We have to quickly get out the rest of the information from the brat, prepare, and go to capture the Uchiha before he's gone. I know you don't like violence but you _know_ I'm right." There was a long pause before Hiruzen let out a defeated sigh. One move left.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do but I can't promise you anything." The black haired man nodded in understanding, before moving his last piece.

"Checkmate. Seems like I win again, Hiruzen." _This time in more than one way._

"Seems like you do." The smoking man groaned from his place and started to prepare a new game, but Danzō shook his head.

"I'll be going now, I have a lot of work to do. We'll play some other time." Sarutobi nodded, and led the other man to the sliding door.

"You know your way out. I'll stay here and put away the board. Just know that I'm still against the idea of using violence but I'll help you this time."

"I know. You never do agree with me, do you?" Danzō asked rhetorically, before bowing his head a little, and turning around to walk away. Once he was outside, a black car pulled over to the front of the house and he got in it. "How did it go?"

"The bait has been thrown, sir."

"Good. Tomorrow, I'll finish the last stage of the plan. Meanwhile, contact our spy. It's time we made our move."

"Yes, Danzō-sama."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm sooo late with this. BUT school is finally over for me, and I will have more time to write now~ Next chapter should be out faster, since it was originally going to be one big chapter, along with this one, but I decided to cut it in half, both because I wanted to end this chapter here, and because it would have taken me waay too much time to write a longer chapter. You know how I am though, so I can't promise anything, especially since I started another story, which was a great idea, right? Haha... :") Anyways, enough of my rambles, R&R and cya in the next chapter~


	13. The Planned Hunt

The purr of the car's engine slowed to a stop as Sasuke parked it. He and Ibiki had been left to investigate the first store where Itachi had been seen. Suigetsu had taken a copy of the waiter's picture and went to ask the people that worked around in other shops if they recognized the insignia of the restaurant. The three of them had changed into casual clothes but had a gun strapped on their belts, covered by their shirts. Once in the store, Ibiki went further inside, pretending to look around for something to buy. Sasuke walked straight up to the cashier, catching her attention instantly. She looked like she was around 18-20 years old, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing what seemed to be the store's uniform but a more "open" version. The nametag on her blouse read "Ino". The girl had a smile on her face and she leaned over the counter before speaking to him.

"Can I help you with something, sir?" The Uchiha sighed and opened his coat, flashing his police badge quickly.

"I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." The smile on the girl's face fell off and she sighed, leaning back and sitting in her chair again. The shift in her attitude wasn't really that unusual. Most cashiers threw fake smiles and tried to make small talk only because they were forced to. Finding people without an ulterior motive behind their moves was really hard these days.

"And here I was hoping you were just a normal tourist who was going to ask for directions. Well, fire away." Sasuke brought out a photo of Itachi and the photograph from the camera with his disguise on and put them on the counter. The blonde extended a manicured hand towards the picture with the disguise and stared at it for a few seconds. Then she suddenly frowned and tossed it back on the counter. "Never seen him before."

"Your reaction says otherwise." The blonde's frown deepened, and she shifted her eyes to her hand. The Uchiha followed her gaze and saw what seemed to be a handmade bracelet on her wrist.

"My _reaction_ doesn't say anything. Now, please leave if you're not going to buy anything."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not going to be leaving anytime soon." Ibiki was suddenly next to the counter, wearing a satisfied grin that made the girl flinch. Another man was standing behind the scarred officer. He had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and the same blue eyes as the cashier girl. When Ino locked eyes with him, the man shook his head and she suddenly seemed furious. "Meet Yamanaka Inoichi, this girl's father. He runs this shop and a few others in this area. I showed him a picture of Itachi, and then another one of the waiter, and it seems like his daughter knows that guy quite well."

"Dad, you promised me you wouldn't tell anyone!" The blonde girl shouted as she got up from her place, the chair she had been sitting on falling back with a crash.

"I'm sorry Ino but I _told_ you that that guy was dangerous, and you wouldn't listen to me! Look, he's involved with criminals! You think it would be hard for him to manipulate a girl-" A loud slap echoed throughout the store, and both officers were glad that it was still early in the morning, or this would have become an even bigger scandal with a crowd. Ino was panting heavily, while her father seemed shocked. He lifted his hand to touch the red handprint that was left on his cheek. The three men were startled when the blonde girl suddenly started sobbing, and her father looked like he had just been kicked in the stomach.

"I _know_ , dad. I know he's not the best person out there. I know he's playing a dangerous game. But...I really, really like him, you know?" Ino looked up at her father with a wobbly smile on her face, and you could see that she had been bottling up her feelings for a long time. Her father came closer to her, embracing her in a hug as she cried her eyes out. After a while she calmed down, and sat back in her chair. After another glance at her bracelet, the blonde girl sighed and looked up at the officers with a resigned expression. "The waiter's name is Sai. He met this guy on your photo, even though I don't know what their meeting was about. He works in a coffee shop that's a few blocks away. I can lead you the-"

"There's no need. Just give us the address, and we'll find our way there." _We'll have to catch your boyfriend_ went unsaid, and the officers really didn't want to make the girl watch that. She seemed to understand, and a grateful smile was sent their way. The blonde quickly pulled out a notebook, wrote the address down, tore the piece of paper out of her notebook and gave it to them. The raven thanked her, and he and Ibiki walked towards the exit.

"Ah, wait!" The Uchiha turned around and the blonde girl flinched, one of her hands starting to tug nervously at her bracelet. "I know that it may be inevitable but...if you could, please, try not to shoot to kill him? I know it's a stupid request but-"

"We'll try." They both knew that he couldn't promise anything, but that seemed enough for now. The officers left the store, and the sound of sobbing became less and less prominent as they walked further away.

* * *

When they went back to the car, Suigetsu was waiting for them with two cups of coffee in his hands. He passed them to the tired officers, and got grateful nods in return.

"We found the waiter's workplace." Ibiki announced, before taking a sip of his coffee. Suigetsu looked surprised but didn't question it, instead he gave his report.

"Went around and asked the other shop keepers. Seems like the guy meets with a lot of shady people but he's also frequently seen with a blonde girl."

"She's the one we got the address from. Apparently, she's his girlfriend. She also knew about his dangerous meetings but she didn't have anything specific on Itachi." Sasuke sighed before he went back inside the car, and started the engine again. "Let's go and meet Sai."

* * *

The coffee shop wasn't crowded, which was good. They didn't want to cause a ruckus, or push Sai into taking a hostage or shooting. Ibiki was the first one in, followed by Suigetsu and Sasuke. They instantly spotted Sai, what with his pale skin and black hair. The boy seemed to feel their gaze, because he slowly turned around. His eyes widened and the trio immediately knew he was about to run away. The pale man flipped a few tables as he ran towards what was apparently the backdoor of the restaurant and his escape. Ibiki swiftly jumped over the objects and followed the boy outside. When he was outside he had to duck back behind the door, because a bullet pierced the place he had been standing at. The scarred man wasn't the best shooter, since his specialty lied in torture and interrogation but he had good aim. It wasn't surprising when he managed to hit the pale man's leg. Sai had grunted and crouched down behind a garbage can next to him. The scarred man thought it was over when he suddenly heard gunshots behind him, and he was falling down.

They had shot both of his legs, so they weren't out to kill him. He had his back turned to them, and they could have easily ended him right there. Ibiki heard Suigetsu calling his name, and before he could warn the other man, a black-clothed person went past him and hit Suigetsu right as he walked outside, instantly knocking him out. The Uchiha was going to be next, if Ibiki didn't do something. But as if sensing his intentions, another one of the men put a napkin over his face, making him breath in the chloroform on it and instantly making him dizzy. Sasuke had to quickly calm down the people that were in the shop but he hurried over to the backdoor when he heard the gunshots. What he didn't expect was a kick in his stomach as soon as he was out of the door. He heard the door closing behind him, and a pair of boots was in front of his face. The man before him was wearing a mask like the others behind him. He caught Sasuke's head and repeated the same thing he did to Ibiki.

"Sorry, but we can't let you interfere with the plan anymore." was the last thing Sasuke heard, before he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wtf this is out soooo early, I feel proud of myself. Also, I know, awful place to leave this at but believe it or not, it's actually because of the storyline, not because I enjoy ending chapters at horrible places(even though I do). R&R and cya in the next chapter~


	14. From A Different Perspective

Mamoru was a simple man. Plain, even. He didn't have outstanding looks or qualities. He was what you'd call a side-character helping the main protagonist. So, when Uchiha-san left him in charge, he was more than shocked. It probably wasn't anything special, and it was an emergency, but he felt very proud he was chosen. He tightened his ponytail, brushing a few strands of brown hair that fell from it behind his ear. His mother always told him to cut his hair but he liked it the way it is. Slipping his fingers through the strands helped him relax. He lived close to the prison, so he decided to hurry up and go there early. Uchiha-san was always there before anyone else and he didn't want to seem tardy. Light brown eyes glanced towards the guard booth, flashing a polite smile to the groggy guard inside. Smith was a good guy, albeit a little on the rough side. He walked through the gateand over to the entrance, unlocking the door with the key he was given.

It was weird to be the only one in the whole building. He wasn't fond of getting up early but he tried to be on time. Usually, he always barely made it, so seeing the empty place made him strangely excited. No matter how old a person gets, the urge to do something when you knew nobody would find out was always there. The child in him never died anyway, it was just always locked in a tight box, so he could focus on being polite and working diligently. Most people would probably frown at this, because you have to "be yourself" but the thing was, he wasn't _not_ being himself. This was just another part of the person Mamoru. So, after a quick look around just to be sure nobody was actually here, he walked over to the door next to the elevator.

The stairs were rarely used these days, the elevator being more convenient. He walked all the way to the top floor, and then promptly sat on the railing and slid down until he was back on the first floor. The stairs continued but he didn't want to go to the prison cells floors. Grinning, he climbed back up to the proper floor and opened the door. He was serious about taking care of the prison while Uchiha-san was away, so he shook his head and walked towards the man's office. It was weird to sit in his commander's chair, so he decided to distract himself by beginning work. There were a lot of documents that needed to be checked on the black haired man's desk. After around twenty minutes of writing, he was startled when he heard a knock, and a familiar face popped through the open door.

"Kenji! Why are you here so early?" The man grinned and opened the door wider. A tray with two coffees and sandwiches was balanced on his hand. He smiled and gestured for Kenji to come inside. Once the man was seated, he passed him a cup and a sandwich.

"I wanted to give you something, since I guessed you'd be pretty nervous about this. And also because I was hungry and didn't want to eat alone."

"You could have shared with Smith." Kenji looked like somebody had stuffed a lemon in his mouth.

"He probably would have eaten my share too." They both laughed at that. He met Kenji when he started to work here. The man was older than him but didn't care for formalities and spoke to everyone as if they were best friends, somehow not sounding rude. He had black hair with a few grey strands already peeking out currently slicked back on his head. He was married and had a daughter. He always carried a picture of her and showed it to anyone who hadn't seen it.

He took a bite of the sandwich and gathered a few folders to place on some of his colleagues' desks. He got up, took a few steps, and fell to the ground. The folders scattered on the floor but he barely registered them. His vision was blurry and he felt his stomach churn. Suddenly, he heard a sob. And then another one. Uncontrollable crying filled the room. He managed to tilt his head towards the desk. His vision was too fuzzy to make out any details but he could tell Kenji was hunched over the desk. Ah, so he was the one crying. Why was he crying? And why did he feel so fucking _sick_? He was suddenly turned around, so he was lying on his back. A few tears that weren't his rolled down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. He threatened my family, Mamoru. He was going to kill them if I didn't...if I...fuck, I'm so sorry!" The older man's breathing became erratic and he couldn't understand anything else.

'Ah, so that's it. I got poisoned, huh. Am I going to die?' The thought didn't really make dread settle in his gut or tears spill from his eyes. He just felt calm, empty. It was probably the thing he was poisoned with. His mind was sluggish, as if barely managing to organize a thought. He kind of pitied Kenji. He didn't have a lover or anything but he knew he would have done the same to protect them. The man that was hunched over him still had so much to face. Kenji had suddenly shifted, dropping into a position one would make for a higher up. He was too disoriented to register any of that, or the footsteps coming closer to him. Something cool rested on his forehead. He died before the shot from the gun even registered in his mind.

* * *

A harsh bang on his cell bars woke the blonde man up. Before he could sort out his thoughts, hands grabbed him roughly and cuffs were put around his wrists. He shot a look at Sakura and was fully awake when he saw the tense expression on her face. The man that led him out of his cell was dangerous. And it was too early for him to be called for the next clue. His stomach twisted, anxiety gripping his whole body. The man was way too armed to be a normal officer and he knew almost all of them. This was not a familiar face. The only person who could be here this early was-

_Sasuke_. The blonde felt all the color drain from his face. Only Sasuke could be here this early. He tried to shake the dark thoughts that started plaguing his mind. His hope of Sasuke being okay was crushed when they passed by the interrogation room he was always put in. The room he entered next was identical to the usual one, except the men that occupied it seemed anything but police officers. Also, he still hadn't seen any sign of Sasuke. He was desperately hoping the raven was just late and wasn't lying in a pool of his own blood somewhere. His thoughts were cut to a halt when an old man sat in the chair in front of him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" The blonde nodded, even though the question was rhetorical. "I'm going to offer you a deal. Tell me where Uchiha Itachi is, and I will get you out of this place."

"I refuse. I've already made a deal with Sasuke." The man didn't seem surprised at the rejection. It seemed like he had expected it.

"Stubborn. But now we are going to have to do this the hard way." Before he could ask what the man meant, the blonde screamed in pain.

* * *

Kenji jumped at the screaming and after a while he decided he didn't want to ( _couldn't)_ listen to it anymore, and took the elevator to the first floor. Face pale, he rushed to the bathroom and dumped his stomach's contents in the toilet. Standing up on shaky legs, he flicked his gaze towards the mirror above the sink. He looked and felt dead. Images of Mamoru's hazy gaze and then of the bullet through his forehead made him dry heave over the toilet for a few minutes. He washed his hands and closed his eyes, forcing the tears away and preparing himself to go out. He thought of his wife and daughter, of laughter and a warm home. He knew he couldn't go back and face them after this. But they were going to be safe, even if he had to spill more blood. He pushed himself away from the sink and walked out.

When he exited the bathroom, Danzō and his other men were coming out of the elevator. He crouched, muttering a "Sir."

"We got the information we needed. Good job, Kenji." The man nodded, feeling sick. Danzō turned towards one of his other men, waiting for him to report.

"The officer has been disposed of, sir."

"Good. We threw Uzumaki back in his cell. It took way too much time to make him talk, the other officers are going to arrive soon. He should bleed to death. Is that poor excuse of a guard still sedated?" The man nodded, and Danzō started walking towards the exit.

"Excellent. We shall proceed to the location we got and capture Uchiha Itachi." A chorus of "Yes, sir." followed the old man's exclamation, and they left the prison. Kenji took one last look at the building he had spent so much time in and closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, is this gonna go deep. So, hey there guys! I'm sorry this took so long but I went on a vacation to my grandparents' village. I didn't have enought Internet to post anything and decided I'd post everything when I came back. So, big surprise for you! The fic is officially finished. I kinda don't want to put an AN at the end, I feel like I'd ruin the moment, so I'm writing everything here. I have only two things to say. First, I finished beta reading and fixing the whole fic but it's just grammar mistakes, so you don't need to go back or anything, just decided I'd mention it. Second, I want to thank you all for the support you gave me for this fic. I seriously didn't expect it. Thank you. It's my first fic, the first chapters kinda make me cringe, but I love it. Thank you again and R&R~ I want to hear your opinions!


	15. Twin Baits

He didn't give away any signs he had woken up. He wasn't restrained and seemed to be lying on a mattress. Opening his eyes just enough to peek through his lashes, careful not to change his breathing, he took in his surroundings as much as he could. The place seemed like an abandoned warehouse and there were two people in the room. One of them was Sai, strapped to a chair, and the other he didn't recognize. He bit back a confused frown. Wasn't Sai part of these men? Shifting his hand towards where his gun would be, he watched the man currently talking to Sai. He was whispering and Sasuke didn't care all that much for their conversation right now. He still had his gun. The man was circling the pale boy now, and when his back was turned towards him, the Uchiha sprang into action. Catching the man in a choke hold, he pressed his gun to his temple.

"Don't move or I'll shoot. Now, place your hands in the air where I can see them." The man tensed, his hand stopping its slow movement towards his gun, and raised both of his arms in the air. Sasuke slowly loosened his hold and moved away from the man, taking his gun, his own still pointed at his head. Before he could start interrogating the man, a familiar voice stopped him.

"Now, now, Sasuke, don't get your panties in a twist. Sorry we had to drag you here like that but we didn't really have a choice. If you had gone back to the prison, you would have ruined everything _and_ died. Also, drop the gun. It's empty and you look ridiculous. I'll explain everything." The raven turned towards the source of the voice, seeing the familiar face of Kisame. He didn't lower the gun.

"Why should I trust you? Where are my subordinates?" The tense mood that had been building up was ruined when Suigetsu walked inside the room, casually sipping a cup of cola. Sasuke sighed, lowering his weapon and checking it. Huh, it really was empty. That meant Kisame hadn't lied to him. He turned towards the older man, his eyes demanding answers.

"Sit down, kid." Kisame walked towards a table shoved in the corner of the room, and the Uchiha followed him. The older man gestured to his comrades to give them some privacy, and the area around the table was suddenly empty. "So kid, I'll have to be honest with you. I still had contact with Itachi." Sasuke stood up, looking like he was ready to launch himself at the shark-like man, but Kisame held a hand up. "Before you spring on me, let me finish. Then you can ask whatever you want."

A tense minute passed, and the Uchiha sat down. "I'm not going to be the one to tell you the whole story, because I know only what Itachi shared with me. One of the reasons for Itachi becoming who he is today is Danzō. Itachi wanted to throw the man in jail but he couldn't do it without any proof that he's evil. So, that Uzumaki boy was used as bait." Sasuke felt his muscles tense. He wanted to scream and punch, thoughts flashing to blonde hair and cheesy grins. He didn't want to think why Itachi would use someone like Naruto for this.

He decided he didn't want to know. "We knew that man would get impatient and try to get the information on Itachi out of the kid. So, Itachi changed the last clues he gave the Uzumaki. If everything went according to plan, Danzō should be travelling to an abandoned factory near a lake, where my men are waiting for him. This Sai kid was also bait thrown by Danzō to lure you out, so he could do what he wanted in the prison. They got a person disguised as Itachi to meet with Sai, and they succeeded in getting you out. Some other members under Danzō's control were supposed to dispose of you and your comrades. Thankfully, we came in time and disposed of them instead." A sharp grin was shot at the Uchiha. He didn't react to the sharp teeth, already used to them because of Suigetsu. Kisame seemed to have finished, so he took a deep breath and asked his own questions.

"What are you planning to do with Danzō and Sai? And where is Ibiki?"

"Danzō and his subordinates will be brought to the police. Before you ask how, we have our ways. We were plannin' to interrogate Sai, so we can get the location of Danzō's hideout. Depending on his answer, we'll decide what to do with him. As for scar face, he's resting in another room. You can bring him to the hospital when you leave. Your car is outside. Decided ya might want it back." He gratefully nodded and slumped back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. All this time he thought Itachi was the evil one but now it seemed like that wasn't the case. He wouldn't make any concrete conclusions until he heard everything from the man himself. Until he did, he'll push him to the back of his mind. He had a blonde to worry about.

"Well, I think it's time to make pale face here talk." He glanced at Kisame and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take care of this." The shark-like man seemed surprised but stepped away from Sai to watch from the sides. He flopped on the ground and crossed his legs. The restrained man seemed surprised at that but otherwise didn't show any signs of cooperation. "Sai, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. If you don't talk, you'll probably die or go in jail for the rest of your life. I don't want lives taken away like this, and I don't think you want to die either. You have someone waiting for you, right?"

A small twitch of the man's eye was his answer. He pushed on. "I talked with her, you know. And I made a promise not to kill you if I could help it. And I'm trying to keep that promise right now. So, it's your choice. Either you cooperate with us or you don't. You were used by Danzō and you know it, Sai. Don't waste the only second chance you'll get. We can make sure you won't be linked to this, right Kisame?" The other man grinned.

"Kid has a clean record. Working for Danzō has its perks. We can release him if he spills the beans." They waited for what seemed like forever, before Sai caved in.

"It's an underground building located under Danzō's house. There's a bookshelf in the living room with a passage under it."

"Sometimes, the most obvious hiding places are the best, eh? Thank you, kid. You made the right choice. Sasuke, wait just a little bit for us to move Ibiki in your car." The Uchiha nodded and stood up, walking over to the mattress he had been lying on. Suigetsu had been sitting there the whole time, sipping his drink. He plopped next to the white haired man, letting out a tired sigh. They stood like that for a while, just watching everyone moving around. Suigetsu was the first one to break the silence.

"Are you gonna talk about it, or do I have to force the words out of your mouth?" The Uchiha didn't answer. "I'm sure blondie is okay. He's too dumb to kick the bucket." A ghost of a smirk graced the raven's lips, and dark eyes turned towards his friend.

"Like you're one to talk. How did you know?" That earned him an eye roll.

"Please, who do you take me for? You didn't ask anything about him even after you heard he was used as bait. I just _knew_ you were silently losing your shit over his condition." Sasuke frowned.

"I'm _not_ losing my shit."

"Sure, and I'm ugly."

"Aren't you supposed to answer with something untrue and impossible?" Before the white haired man could retort, Kisame called them over and handed Sasuke his car keys and a white envelope.

"Ibiki is lying comfortably on the backseat. You can tell the doctor it was an accident while you were chasing a criminal. This envelope is the last thing Itachi gave me. Said you'd open it when you decided to meet him." The Uchiha nodded, thanked the man, and walked out of the building. He and Suigetsu got inside the car and he started it, the machine purring back to life. His mind was going through everything that had happened, and he tried to still his shaking hands. He thought of Danzō, Itachi and-

'Naruto, you better not be dead.'


	16. Blooming Despair

She was waiting anxiously for the blonde to return, getting up from her bed and pacing around the small cell. When a different man came over and threw a bloody heap on the ground, she felt rage build up inside her. She stuffed the feeling deep inside her mind, focusing on the bleeding blonde instead. Crouching down, she examined him and winced. He had been tortured to an extreme length. The jacket and shirt were torn and he had multiple slashes on his arms and chest. A fatal looking gash on his abdomen was oozing blood at an alarming rate. She gently lifted him up, holding his head in one hand, and removing his jacket with the other. She was going to have to tear the shirt in the middle once she laid him down.

She had never been more grateful for her martial arts skills. If she wasn't as fit from all the training, she wouldn't have been able to lift the blonde from the ground. She gently laid him on his bed, trying not to aggravate the cut on his stomach. After laying him down, she tore his flimsy shirt through the middle, carefully removing it from where it had gotten stuck inside cuts. After she was done with that, she went over to her own bed, and started tearing her blanket into smaller pieces so she could use them as bandages. Thank god the fabric was worn out and thin, or she wouldn't have been able to do anything at all. She needed to close the gash on the stomach, but she didn't have anything to remove the blood with or sew the wound shut.

A sudden voice cut through the tearing sounds.

"Oi, girlie." She moved her gaze to the cell opposite of hers. A hand holding a cup was extended through the bars. "Take it. It ain't much but ya can clean his wound a lil' bit." She nodded gratefully and walked over to the bars, extending her hand and barely managing to reach the cup's handle. There was water inside, which she could use to clean some of the blood from the wound before she sewed it shut. The torn pieces of sheet had threads sticking out of them and she could use one for the sewing. Now all she needed was a needle. Green eyes frantically glanced around the room, and landed on her pillow.

She turned it around and found what she had been looking for. A safety pin. She took it out and walked over to the bars. She only needed the needle, so she bent the pin as much as she could and started slamming it and grinding it against the bars. After what seemed like forever, the needle got separated from the rest of the pin's parts. She poured the water from the cup on a piece of fabric, and cleaned the blood around the cut as much as she could. After that she pulled a thread out of one of the torn sheets, put it through the improvised needle after she cleaned it too, and started carefully closing the wound.

She hadn't wanted to become a doctor but she was more than grateful she had learned the basics. She used the clean parts of the damp fabric to clean some of the other cuts and then grabbed the thinner and longer pieces of torn sheet to use as bandages. Carefully lifting Naruto into a sitting position and mindful of his wound, she leaned him on the wall and quickly bandaged his whole torso. After laying him down, she bandaged his arms and walked towards her own bed. She sat on it and leaned on the wall, watching the now kind of normalized rise and fall of the blonde's chest. He was alive, though barely. She closed her eyes and hoped someone would come soon.

* * *

"Do you want me to come with you?" Suigetsu asked, as they stopped in front of the prison. The raven shook his head and got out of the car.

"I'll take care of this myself. You just take Ibiki to the hospital." The white haired man nodded, moved to the driver's seat, and took off. The raven flicked his gaze towards the guard booth, and saw Smith sitting in his chair in an uncomfortable looking position, head resting on his small desk and arms dangling at his sides. Walking briskly to the booth, the Uchiha checked for a pulse and when he found one, he left the guard there and walked towards the prison. The man was probably just sedated but Sasuke took out his phone and called for an ambulance. He hoped only Smith would need it.

Walking over to the door, he pushed it and was surprised when it opened. He knew that Danzō could have easily opened it but his mind flashed to Mamoru. He had given the man the key. He shook his head, and entered the silent building. Indecision gripped him. Should he check if Mamoru was here, or go and find Naruto? He stood there for a while, the silence in the room suffocating him, and turned towards the elevator. He took it and went down.

* * *

He walked out of the elevator, gun in hand. Kisame may have said that Danzō would be gone by now, but he didn't want to risk it. He didn't know in which room the blonde would be, or if he even was here, so he started checking them one by one. He was one room away from Naruto's usual one. He heard the handle of the room's door creak, and when he peeked inside he froze. One of the chairs, the one where the prisoner ( _Naruto_ ) would sit in, was covered in blood. He backed away from the room, letting the door slam shut, and slid down the wall.

Images flashed through his head, snapping from a laughing blonde to a grave with a familiar name on it. He frantically shook his head, and got up on shaky legs. He would not accept it until he saw proof himself. Naruto _couldn't_ be dead. He ran towards the stairs this time, taking two at a time to the prison cells floors. Opening the door there, he sprinted towards the last cells, where the blonde's one was located. He stopped in front of Naruto's cell, panting, and felt his shoulders sag in relief. The blonde was lying there, bandaged and probably severely injured, but he could see the rise and fall of his chest. Naruto was _alive_. He quickly searched through his coat, finding the spare key for the cell and opening it.

He barely managed to dodge a punch aimed at his face, and caught the second one. Green eyes that blazed like hellfire bore through him, and a low growl passed through the pink haired girl's lips.

"What the fuck did you do to Naruto? Why are you showing your face here after what happened? I barely saved his life, goddammit! I fucking trusted you, too! I..." She let out an angry sob, too shaken up to continue her rant. She had been banging her free hand on his chest the whole time, and he let her take her anger out. After she was relatively calm, he released her wrist and she walked over to her bed, sitting down and hugging herself as if to keep all of her feelings from flooding out all at once. The Uchiha sighed and when she didn't respond to him calling her name, he grabbed her shoulders and made him look at her, shaking her gently.

"Look at me, Sakura. Do you really think I'd do something as gruesome as this? I wasn't here when this happened. I wasn't the one who did this to Naruto. I could stay here and explain everything to you, but right now Naruto is bleeding and dying. I _promise_ you, once he's taken care of I'll come back and explain everything to you." The blonde's condition seemed to snap the woman out of her state, and she nodded, getting up and brushing the corners of her eyes where tears were starting to appear. He looked at the blonde and dread filled his stomach. Naruto looked as pale as a ghost, a tough achievement when his skin wasn't even pale. He touched his hand. It was cold but not like the hand of a dead person. They still had time, however limited it was.

The ambulance arrived and he had to lock up Sakura and leave with the blonde. He promised the pink haired girl again that he would update her on the blonde's condition as soon as he could. A grateful but wary look was shot his way, before he followed the nurses and climbed into the ambulance.

* * *

They reached the hospital in no time. The blonde was immediately rushed into the emergency room, and Sasuke had to sit in one of the chairs in front of it. The doctor in charge gave him a quick nod before marching into the room. Sasuke managed to hear the beginning of an order, before the voices were muffled by the closed door. A nurse came to ask him about the injuries, and if he was okay, but he sent her away after reassuring her and showing her his police badge. She understood the situation and thankfully left him alone, going inside the room too. The Uchiha slumped into his chair. He had been holding the blonde's hand until they pulled him inside the room. It was colder than before.

At the same time, the police department's main building was in chaos. Shimura Danzō, along with a number of men, was found tied up in front of the building. The cameras only showed masked men, all the same height and with the same figures, dumping Danzō and his underlings in front of the building. Unidentifiable. Along with the men, a box with a letter on top was also there. The letter read as follows:

_To Sarutobi Hiruzen, Leader of the Police Department,_

_This man is a criminal you hadn't known about, since you thought he was one of your own. I captured him for you. In the box there are folders with information on all of his crimes and subordinates. If you still do not believe me, look under the bookshelf inside his house._

_-Uchiha Itachi_


	17. Brothers

A gentle shake woke the black haired man up. His grogginess vanished the moment he registered the person in front of him was Naruto's doctor. Standing up, the Uchiha shook the doctor's hand, his eyes flashing to a nametag reading "Kibetsu". The man seemed like he was in his late thirties, with dark brown hair and green eyes.

"I'm guessing you're part of the police?" Sasuke nodded, flashing his police badge out of habit. "The patient is stable, sir." Sasuke could feel his shoulders sagging in relief, the pent up tension in them disappearing. Naruto was okay. He was _okay_. "But, I have some worrying news. Judging from his medical records, he seems to have suffered from psychological trauma, said to have been triggered from seeing his mother jump off a building. It seems the woman killed herself some months after his dad died. Anyway, it seems like the treatment for overcoming the trauma wasn't finished due to the patient being sent into prison. From the information I got, the patient was adopted a while after his parents died and went to prison for the murder of his stepfather?"

An almost mechanical nod was the answer. The Uchiha could feel his stomach twist painfully. He didn't like where this was going. "Well, that seems to have caused even more mental problems. Combine it with the excessive torture he seems to have suffered, the patient may have started developing psychosis. Has he had any panic attacks?" A crying figure and a dark elevator flashed through Sasuke's mind. He nodded again.

"What exactly is psychosis?" The doctor frowned, probably trying to form a simple explanation for him.

"Basically, it's a condition of the mind that's described as a "loss of contact with reality". It could be caused by trauma and it usually leads to unusual behavior, personality changes, panic attacks and so on. Due to Uzumaki-san's condition, he may suffer from this but until he awakes and we monitor him for symptoms, we can't actually confirm anything. These are just speculations from looking at medical records." The Uchiha stood stock still, the attempt at easing the situation not working on him at all. He crashed back into his chair.

"Will he be sent into a mental hospital?" The doctor shifted, and sat next to the black haired man.

"Well, this can be treated with medicine but there's also the option of the Acceptance and Commitment therapy, "ACT" for short. It helps the patient accept their personal events, especially unwanted ones. Personally, I think that's the better option. The problem is, _if_ Uzumaki-san needs to be treated, somebody will have to pay for the treatment and this hospital visit. Also, he's a prisoner..." The Uchiha shook his head at that, surprising Kibetsu.

"He's not a prisoner anymore. I won't go into details, but he had made a deal with me, and he kept his end of it. Now it's my turn. I'll take care of any payment that's required." The doctor nodded reluctantly. He seemed like he wanted to say something else, so the Uchiha pointedly looked at him, signaling for him to speak.

"Ah, I don't mean to be nosy but...Is there a reason why you're helping this man so much? You don't have to answer if it's personal or..." Sasuke gave a humorless huff, and got up from his uncomfortable chair.

"I'm...I'm just a really shitty friend." _And it's the only thing I can do for him at this point._ A sharp pain went through his chest at that thought. Tired black eyes met surprised forest green. "Call me if you need anything." After scribbling his number on a piece of paper the doctor provided him with, along with his name, the Uchiha walked out of the hospital and headed towards his home, heart heavy and thoughts jumbled.

* * *

After four days he got a call from an unknown number. He had just gotten back from Mamoru's funeral. They couldn't find the body, but one of Danzō's men had said the man was dead, and it was later confirmed to be true. He shook the thought of his crying parents away, and sat on his bed, loosening the black tie around his neck. He had also dropped by to the prison to quickly give Suigetsu instructions, and visit Sakura to give her the news about Naruto. The girl hadn't taken it too well, even if she didn't show it. At least the news that the blonde wasn't a prisoner anymore brought her some comfort.

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Ah, sir, it's Uzumaki-san's doctor, Kibetsu. I'm sorry, but our suspicions were correct. Would you like to use the therapy option or should he stay here and start using pills? You have to decide, since you're his only known contact, and you're paying for the treatment. We tried contacting his stepmother but we got no response." Deep breaths. Stay calm. _Calm._

"I think the therapy is the better option."

"Okay, then I'll give you the address of the-"

"No need. Is there a way for me to pay without going there?" A pause followed.

"Well...You can come to me and leave me the money. I'll take care of the rest. But sir, are you sure?" Another pause. _Breathe._

"Yes, I am." He finished the call. The chair he had been occupying flew to the other side of the room and crashed in the wall. His phone followed. His gaze flicked to the white envelope left on the table. He opened it.

* * *

It had been so obvious, Sasuke would have laughed if the situation was different. He stopped his car in front of an old looking house. It was near a lake, in the middle of a forest. He had been here with Itachi when they were little. There were a lot of wild animals around here, and hunting had been allowed. They usually hunted small animals. One day though, they saw a boar. When Sasuke tried to shoot it, he failed. Itachi managed to hit it perfectly. The younger brother had been jealous when they went back home and their father praised Itachi. Again. That was the last time they went hunting together. It was a memory Sasuke had buried and ignored so much, he had forgotten about it. Or so he thought.

"Lake, arrow, boar, brothers, fear...hunt, pride, failure, wound, jealousy, competition, memory, children...How did you change this for Danzō to be led to a factory, Itachi?" Said Uchiha turned towards Sasuke, having perched himself at the front of the house. An expressionless mask was plastered on his face.

"I have my ways. That's not why you came here though, is it?"

"No, it isn't. I came for answers you promised to provide."

"I will, once you lower your gun. I'm not here to fight with you, Sasuke." The sudden soft tone startled the younger man. He hadn't even realized he had pulled his gun out. He lowered it but didn't put it away. He still had a criminal in front of him.

"Talk, then. I'm listening." Itachi sighed and even though he was looking at Sasuke, his eyes seemed distant, looking at something that wasn't there.

"You know father is old already. He was going to choose me as the new clan head. The Uchiha were a powerful clan with a lot of connections and land, which just kept increasing. Danzō was feeling threatened by this. The clan was probably two thirds of the police force, maybe even more. But they didn't have a high enough position to do bigger things with their power, bigger investigations. They felt like the council and Hiruzen were purposefully doing this, keeping their power under control. Father decided to talk to Hiruzen about this and the man agreed to raise Fugaku's status and let him become a council member. Danzō though, didn't agree to this. So, he decided to kill Fugaku"

The elder Uchiha paused, letting the information sink in. Realization passed through Sasuke's eyes. "As I said, Fugaku is old. I was going to be the next clan head. I had never trusted Danzō, so I decided to research him after witnessing his heated protest against the Uchihas' rise in power. What I came up with was numerous crimes and killed people. I decided then that if I became the next clan head, Danzō would kill me, father and _you_. The clan would fall without a proper leader and Danzō would be able to take it out, control it even. So, instead of becoming the clan head, I fled."

The younger Uchiha fell to the ground, sitting there with wide eyes. Itachi continued. "That ruined the clan from the inside. Father was too shaken up from his failure of a son, and you were pushed into becoming the next clan head. The pressure, I assume, was too big and you broke under it, having to leave the clan yourself. The clan lost its drive for power after that and they closed themselves off from the accusing stares and whispers. And that..."

"...Took them off of Danzō's radar." Sasuke finished, whispering the end of a story he hadn't expected. He felt light headed. The gun slipped from his shaking hand, dropping on the grass next to him. Suddenly, he heard police sirens. His gaze snapped to Itachi. He got an apologetic smile in return. Itachi walked forward.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Maybe I should have talked with you about this, found another way. But...I don't regret my decision. I had to stain my hand with blood after that, but everybody was, _is_ , safe. That's all I wanted. There is so, _so much_ I want to say to you but just know that no matter what happens from now on..." The older man crouched down, placing a hand behind Sasuke's head and pulling him forward, making their foreheads bump into each other.

_Sorry Sasuke, maybe some other time._ "I will always love you."

Then he got up, leaving the stunned Uchiha behind and walking towards the parking police cars, hands raised up in surrender. An officer came out of one of the cars and placed handcuffs on Itachi, pushing him into the car's backseat. Another one came towards Sasuke but the Uchiha waved him away, saying he was fine and to leave him alone. He stayed on the grass, watching the cars drive away with _his_ _brother._ He didn't stop the tears that streamed down his face when the last police car was out of sight.


	18. Tearstained Hope

_**Several months later, September** _

He was walking through the park in the early morning. Itachi had been sentenced to 30 years in prison, while Danzō was to rot away in there. He had the pleasure of housing him, while Itachi was sent into another prison. Sakura was also released from prison a few weeks ago, and he was forced to learn martial arts in her new dojo. He sometimes wrote letters to his mother too, and got a reply back. Breathing in the cold air, he sat on one of the benches in the park. It was his day off, and he planned to relax as much as he could. A vibration in his pocket startled him from his calm state. He pulled his phone out, "Dr. Kibetsu" flashing on the screen. He picked up.

"Hello, Sasuke?" He grunted in reply, tensing. The man never called him unless it was after a therapy session to report, and he knew the blonde had one right now. "Something peculiar happened a few minutes ago. In the middle of the therapy, Naruto started shouting something about completing a deal. He asked to see you."

The Uchiha inhaled sharply. The blonde had never mentioned him after he woke up, and he asked Kibetsu and the nurses not to mention him. A painful pang had gone through his chest when he had realized the blonde may connect him with a painful memory. A memory he didn't want to unlock. "I know you didn't want to get involved, Sasuke, but-"

"Will this help him?" A pause followed. He glanced at the tree above his head and watched the colorful leaves sway. A golden-colored one fell from a branch and swirled in the air a little, before landing on the ground.

"We believe this is the key to his recovery."

"I'll come." A light breeze swept through and the leaf got carried away by it. Sasuke watched it go and got up.

* * *

Even if he had never been to this hospital, everyone seemed to know him. He got greeted at least a few times, not counting the polite smiles and nods, while walking towards the reception. An elder woman was seated behind the reception desk, and she shot him a warm smile.

"Ah, Sasuke-san, right? Kibetsu told us you'd be arriving. Third floor, room 301." The Uchiha nodded his thanks, and walked over to the elevator. He got inside, pressed the button for the third floor, and waited. His hands were clammy and he could feel sweat rolling down the side of his head. The elevator's doors opened, and he walked forward. Naruto's room was the second one in the hall. He took the handle, and stood there for a few seconds, bracing himself. He opened the door.

The sight of the blonde man lying there, with his wrists strapped to the bed squeezed his heart painfully. He wanted to just turn around and run away, he was a second away from doing that, when he heard the bed creak and froze. He watched as the blonde's eyes slowly opened. Dulled blue slowly glanced at him, and he froze. When the blonde's eyes shifted to something else, unfocused, he felt guilt settle in his gut. This wasn't the same Naruto. This was the broken shell of that man, lying strapped to a bed, cut off from the world.

The Uchiha moved to the chair next to the blonde's bed, footsteps echoing loudly in the silent room. There was only one window in the room, placed so that the blonde could look outside from his bed. It was like the man was a caged animal, forced to look at the freedom he may or may not receive. He sat down on the chair, body tense. He had no idea what to say, heck he was too scared to talk at all. He looked at the blonde's strapped hand and held it in his own before his mind registered the move. It was warm.

Suddenly, the blonde's gaze snapped to him. Piercing blue met shocked black. The blonde screamed. Startled, the Uchiha pulled his hand away. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he couldn't listen to the blonde scream like that any longer. So he leaned forward and smashed his lips on the blonde's. The kiss was desperate, and impulsive. He didn't want to hear the blonde scream like that anymore. It just _hurt_. He pulled away and looked the blonde in the eyes. They were clear. He knew Naruto was _seeing_ him now.

"Sasuke?" The hoarse voice of the blonde startled him. He felt like crying.

"It's me. I..."

"Sasuke, I...I forgot the words. I'm so sorry, I...fuck, I can't remember them! Why can't I remember them?!" The blonde started muttering after that, tears streaming down his face now. He took a deep breath.

"Lake, arrow, boar, brothers, fear...hunt, pride, failure, wound, jealousy, competition, memory, children." The blonde stopped his muttering, surprised blue eyes meeting his again. He took another deep breath. "It's over, Naruto. I met Itachi. He explained everything to me. The real criminal was Danzō all along, the man who tortured you. He's in jail right now. And he'll stay there forever. Naruto I'm so sorry I didn't pro-" He was cut off by loud laughing, and he got scared he lost the blonde again. His fear vanished when those blue eyes focused on him again, clear and alive.

"I'm so happy. Oh god, I thought you had died, you know? I thought you would never find out what you were looking for all this time because of me. I'm so relieved." The Uchiha sighed and grabbed the blonde's head, pulling it towards him and bumping their foreheads together.

"It's because of _you_ I found out what I was looking for, you idiot." The blonde grinned, and the Uchiha knew he was going to be all right. This wasn't the same Naruto, but it was _still_ _him_ and he still loved him _._ When he met those blue eyes again, he knew _they_ were going to be alright.


End file.
